Second Chances
by FriendsEnthusiast
Summary: After their horrific break up, Ross makes the decision to leave New York, leaving everyone he knows and loves behind. Six months later, his friends go after him to find someone completely different with a dark story behind him. Are second chances too many or can Ross and Rachel make it out with their relationship renewed? Originally set in TOW The Ski Trip. R&R pairing.
1. Chapter 1

**Second Chances**

 **Hello everyone! I'm back with a very special story for you all! After digging through my archives, I stumbled upon the very first story I wrote for the Friends genre back when I first got into the series. I've altered the plot a little bit but it's should still resemble the one I had originally planned way back when.**

 **I also want to mention this story is probably the most AU story I'll write. You'll notice that some characters may act 'out of character' as compared to the show. You'll also notice the story touch on many different genres that aren't usually found in Friends stories. I had previously written for an action-adventure genre and my old self must have carried a little of that over.**

 **Warning: The following story deals with mature and serious topics. Nothing written is meant to offend or mock any of these topics. Younger readers' discretion is advised.**

 **Alright, enough talk. I present,** _ **Second Chances**_ **.**

 **Disclaimed: I don't own Friends. I don't own much really, but then again, do we ever really own anything in life?**

 **Chapter 1**

The cold, Northern breeze blew across his face, sending shivers down his spine. His hand froze up as a result of the chill in the air as he forcefully poured fuel into the yellow taxi, trying his best not to show signs of how cold he really was.

It had taken all his courage to come up here. After all, the result of his devastating break up with Rachel still hung in the air and he knew that neither he nor Rachel wanted to be near each other at the moment. But when he received a call from Phoebe begging for help, he had no choice but to swallow his pride and come. They were his friends after all and nothing would change that.

Now, however, he regretted not giving it a second thought. He still felt Rachel's cold stare she had since he stepped out of the car and though outside, everyone could feel the rising tension between them.

Ross blew hot air from his mouth toward his hands, trying to warm them up before they froze and fell off. He couldn't help but over hear his friends talking behind him, something on the lines of "should we ask him to come?" followed by a "but what about Rachel?" He sighed, realizing the situation he's put his friends into. At least their caring concern for him made him feel a bit better.

At least someone was appreciative of his actions.

He heard Rachel's small footsteps walk towards the group and tried to focus his attention on something else. At this point, he was debating whether to jump in the car and drive away, or to stick around and find out what would happen next. Either way, it was not going to end well for him.

"You guys are unbelievable. No he cannot come!" Rachel raised her voice behind him, as if she was talking to him.

That tone. There was something about that tone that made his blood boil. It was the tone you'd use when accusing someone, when trying to prove them wrong. Did she think he was trying to join them on their ski trip? Did she think he had planned this all out just so he could tag along? Just the thought of the million accusations his ex-girlfriend could have made his temper rise. Even now, a week after their break up, and she still can't see that he's only doing this to help?

"Excuse me? Oh, please? Can't I come to your special magical cabin?" he asked sarcastically, fed up with the way he has been treated recently.

"Why would you even want to come? You're a horrible skier."

Ross clutched his heart as if he was seriously hurt by her words. "Oh, hitting me where it hurts: my ski skills."

"Here we go again," Monica stated sadly.

Joey shook his head, walking away. "I can't handle this you guys."

"I can handle it. Handle is my middle name. Well actually, it's the middle part of my first name," Chandler quipped. Only he could joke at a time like this.

Ross ignored them and tried to steady his breath and calm his temper. _Just a few more minutes_ , he told himself. _Just a few more minutes and then you can go home_.

He tapped the edge of the fuel can to make sure no access liquid spilled out and shut the car's fuel cap.

"Alright Pheebs, your cab's ready."

"Alright, let's go," Rachel said, walking by him without even giving him a second look. The action got his temper rising again as she blatantly expressed her ungratefulness.

"You're welcome," Ross stated without looking at her.

"I'm sorry, were you speaking to me or sleeping with someone else?"

That tone again. This time, it was too much. He already had things on his mind and he was fed up with her attitude towards him.

"We were on a break," he said sternly.

"You know what Ross, why don't you just put _that_ on your answering machine?" Rachel shot back.

"Hey, it's valid, ok. And I'm not the only one who thinks so." He turned around and gestured at his sister, remembering something she had mentioned earlier. "Monica agrees with me."

Rachel turned and looked at her in disbelief. "What?"

In turn, Monica shuffled her feet, staring at the ground. "I… I don't know…"

"That's what you said last night," Ross point out, trying to bring the tension off him for a bit. He knew it was a cruel game he was playing but at this point, he didn't care anymore. He was tired of being treated like this. His break up with Rachel had left him heart-broken and the fact that she didn't see it brought forth emotions he couldn't control.

But most of all, he felt ashamed; ashamed that it was his actions that had caused this rift between them. The one person he loved the most in the world, the one person who he would lay down his life for, the one person that could truly make him happy, now hated him for hurting her and he only had himself to blame.

"What- what I said was that I _understood_ ," she murmured. "Joey's the one who agreed with you."

"Ok," Ross said, turning back to Rachel.

"Really Joey?" she asked, still in disbelief at her friends' words.

Joey stood there, unable to say anything. "What?" was the only thing that he could think of.

"You know what," Phoebe said, jumping in before anything escalated any further. "There is no right or wrong here."

"No, I think it's very _obvious_ who's wrong here," Rachel said, sending Ross another icy glare.

" _Obviously_ not to Joey."

The group turned to Joey who once again, was left speechless once more.

"What?"

After that, all hell broke loose. Ross and Rachel began yelling at each other, defending their sides and expressing their opinions through pure anger. Monica and Joey began arguing over who had agreed with Ross, raising their voices so that it could be heard over the bickering duo. Chandler, who had already been extremely uncomfortable about the situation, broke down the only way he knew how: randomly dancing in the snow.

"Hey, guess who I am?!" he yelled, flailing his arms and legs while stepping back and forth in the snow.

For a split second, his attempt for attention worked as everyone stopped to look at him dancing with an unlit cigar hanging out of his mouth. Unfortunately that only lasted a second as they all went back to arguing once again.

The only person who seemed to remain calm was Phoebe, as she tried to resolve the argument between the two people who had caused all this. She frantically looked from Ross and Rachel to Chandler, then back to Ross and Rachel, unsure what to do at this point. Finally she looked at Chandler's horrific dancing and lost it.

"Hey! Hey! Hey! HEY! HEY!" She shouted. Everyone shut up for a moment and looked at her as she pointed at Chandler. "Look what you're doing to Chandler!"

At the mention of his name, Chandler came back to reality and stopped dancing, cluelessly looking at the others with a puzzled look. Phoebe turned back to Ross and Rachel, who refused to look at each other.

"Now look, we know this is really, really hard for you guys, ok. You don't-, alright, you don't have to love each other, ok? You don't, you don't even have to like each other much right now, but please, you have to figure out a way to be around each other."

"Yeah, and not put _us_ in the middle," Joey added, motioning to the rest of the group.

"Yeah, otherwise, I mean that- that's just, that's it for us hanging out together! We can't choose between you two. We love you both very much and hate it when you fight, but we hate it more when you force us to choose between you two."

All went silent as Ross looked down at his shoes. He wanted to cry, but he couldn't. So many thoughts flashed before him; thoughts of sadness, anger, regret, and sorrow. Phoebe's words echoed through his head as one thought stood out from all the other ones.

Maybe he did make the right decision.

He looked over at Rachel who was staring intently at him. Her beautiful blue eyes that he could spend hours staring into no longer reflected feelings of love and happiness. Instead, the old feelings were gone and replaced with pure hatred. And worse of all, that pure hatred was directed at him.

It was at this moment where Ross realized he had truly lost her. The love of his life, the girl of his dreams, it was over. He closed his eyes, knowing now that what he had done was the smart choice. No longer would his friends be caught in the cross fire, no longer would he feel the intense harshness of guilt and shame, and most importantly, no longer would Rachel need to be around him. It was best for everyone.

"You're right" he said softly, walking back towards his car. He opened the driver's door and looked at his friends in the eye. "You're right Phoebes, we can't keep doing this. I'm sorry for everything we've put you guys in. You don't have to worry anymore, I'm leaving anyways."

"Finally, something good is coming out of your mouth!" Rachel exclaimed, raising her arms in the air. Joey and Phoebe shot her a dirty look but Ross could already see how much she hated him.

"Alright, well we'll call you when we get back, ok? Go home and relax and we'll talk later," Monica said softly, kissing him lightly on the cheek.

Ross looked down, avoiding eye contact with everyone. The others softly said their goodbyes as they walked back towards the taxi with Rachel already there and about to open the passenger's door. Before anyone moved, he looked back up, locking eyes with Rachel for a split second before looking at his sister.

"No…" he whispered, just loud enough to get everyone's attention.

"…I'm leaving the city."

…

 **Author's Note: First chapter: done! What do you guys think so far? Leave a review down below and try to guess what I have planned for all of you.**


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

"No… I'm leaving the city."

Rachel's heart stopped as she heard those four words. She was so shocked that she couldn't move. Her hand that had been placed on the handle wouldn't budge and neither would any other part of her body. The only thing she could think about was what Ross had just said.

 _He's… he's leaving?_

She couldn't believe it and neither did everyone else.

"What?" Monica asked as if she heard him wrong.

"I said… I'm leaving the city," Ross softly repeated.

"You mean, leaving the city for a business trip right?" Joey asked worryingly.

"Yeah, yeah, like leaving the city for like a week," Phoebe jumped in, also trying to convince herself.

Ross sighed sadly, looking at the ground. "No, I mean I'm leaving New York."

Monica stepped forward with so much haste it was as if she was going to slap him. "What?! Why?! Why are you leaving?!"

Suddenly Chandler gasped and everyone turned to him. His eyes were widened and his hands were up on his head, practically pulling his hair out. "No, no, no, no, no! This is just like the time my parents divorced and my dad was moving out! Please tell me you're joking Ross, right? Hahaha, it's funny, but now the joke is over."

Ross closed the car door and stepped forward with a stern look on his face. "Chandler, I'm being serious. I'm actually leaving the city. I've been offered a job at a new museum in San Diego and had already accepted it a few days ago."

"Well don't you think you're rushing into this?" Monica argued. "I mean, just because you're offered a job doesn't mean you have to accept it right away."

"Yeah, well… actually…" Ross started, clearing his voice. "This isn't a decision I made right away. I was… I was offered the job a few weeks ago…"

"A few weeks ago?! How could you have not told us about that?!" His sister practically screamed at him.

"Things were different back then. I wasn't planning on accepting it… until…" he trailed off as his eyes wandered around, looking from one place to another until it landed on one person: Rachel.

All of a sudden, it dawned on her. A few weeks ago was when they were together. A few weeks ago was before the arguing and the break up. A few weeks ago was when they were…

…happy.

A single tear rolled down her cheek as everything became clear to her. The job had nothing to do with it. He was fine whether he accepted it or not. The job was only an excuse to hide the truth. And the truth was, he was moving because of her.

Rachel turned around as more tears starting falling from her eyes, the cold air freezing the tear drops as they slid down her face, giving off a strange tingling feeling. She couldn't believe it. Ross was moving because of her. Was it because of the break up they had? Was it because he thought she no longer loved him? It was at this moment when she realized that she had not been the only one left heart-broken after their break up. Ross had been just as affected, if not more. And to make matters worse, she has been treating him as if his life didn't matter at all. She had even gone out of her way to hurt him purposely, even going out on a date with Mark just to make him jealous. She couldn't even begin to describe how much that must have hurt him. If he was moving because of her, she couldn't blame him.

"Guys look," Ross started. "I know this is a lot to take in but I want you to know that this was my decision. I'm going to San Diego and nothing you say or do will change that."

"Man, you can't do this to us! After everything we've been through you're just going to throw it all away?" Joey asked, the sadness in his voice very clearly showing his current emotions.

"Of course not Joe, I'll always remember you guys. I don't expect you guys to be ok with this. Just… remember that this is my decision and my decision alone. Besides, I've already accepted the offer and can't back out of it now."

Silence ensued Ross' statement as the group pondered what to do next. It was Monica who broke the silence by asking the question everyone had on their minds.

"When do you leave?"

Ross sighed. "I've already started packing and have movers moving some furniture over to my new apartment right now. I leave Monday night."

Suddenly a beeper went off and Ross reached into his pocket to see who was dialing. He pressed a button and the beeping sound went away but not before looking everyone in the eyes.

"I got to go. That was Carol. She and Susan were helping me pack and need me to take the car back," he explained. In response, no one looked at him as he scanned the scene in front of him. "Look you guys, go on your ski trip and when you get back, I'll explain as much as I can, ok?"

He didn't get an answer and sighed in response. He walked over to Monica, who had been staring at the ground for the past few minutes, and gave her a quick hug before hoping into the car and turning it around.

The group looked up and watched him drive away, leaving them in the cold. But, they all knew that the next time that happened, he wouldn't be leaving them in the cold. He'd be leaving them forever.

…

The ski trip was a bust.

Ever since the group received the news from Ross of him leaving New York, it was all they could think about during their short vacation. Most of the time was spent talking about what to do and how this would affect their lives without Ross there. None of them truly realized until now how important Ross was to their group and their own individual lives.

Nearing the end of their ski trip, they had all decided that they couldn't let him leave like that. They had to convince him to stay and that would be their number one priority when they got back on Monday.

While the others may have been saddened during their weekend out, no one could compare to how sorrowful Rachel felt. The whole weekend had involved deep thinking, crying, and then a fake smile that hid it all. To the others, she was the same person who was still furious with Ross. Deep down inside, however, she was a mess.

She was devastated, yet she didn't dare tell anyone how she felt. All she knew was that if she didn't do something, one of the most important people in her life was going to walk out of her life forever. The question became how can she show that to him without causing another situation? She was sure that he no longer believed that she loved him, nevertheless care about him based on the way she had treated him over the past week. And if that was the case, she was going to need to go to the extreme. The problem there was that she was afraid, and fear had always been her worst enemy.

As Monday rolled around, the gang found themselves preoccupied with work. Right from the morning, they all had wanted to go and talk to Ross but things got in the way quickly. Because they had taken the weekend off, all of them had things to catch up on. Whether it be rescheduled auditions, waiting massage clients, large amount of food to be cooked, or reports due by the afternoon, no one had time to talk things over with Ross. Before they all left, they had tried to figure out a way to at least have someone over to talk with him at some point during the day, but soon, they realized that if they wanted any chance of convincing him to stay they would need to do it as a group. As a result, they left him a message saying they'd be over in the evening to talk things through with him and left their separate ways.

There was no happiness spread throughout the day as time seemed to have tick by twice as long. The hours leading up to the end of their work felt like weeks and by the time they were gathered in Monica and Rachel's apartment living room, they were all high on tension.

"Ok guys, this is it. All seriousness from here on out," Monica said to the others, who huddled up as if they were running a last minute play. "We know what we have to do. If we don't convince Ross to stay, that'll be it. We can't let him go like that without a fight so let's go down there and make him stay."

The five friends looked at each other, knowing their situation and waiting for someone to speak up. A minute went by in silence until Chandler put his fist into the middle.

"Ready, break!" Chandler joked, breaking the huddle and easing the tension in the room with a weak joke. They all could use some humor right about now.

As they began to get ready to leave, Monica spotted Rachel off to the side lost in her own thoughts. She approached her softy, not trying to start up anything with her at the moment.

"Rach, you ok? You've been awfully quiet," Monica pointed out.

Rachel sighed, wiping away a small tear that had formed in her eye. She turned around and instantly her sadness was reflected onto her best friend who noticed her ruined make-up.

"Mon, I… I don't know if I can do this," she whispered quietly, breaking down and embracing her friend.

"I know honey, I know. And I know that you and Ross haven't been on the best terms lately." Monica said soothingly, gently stroking Rachel's hair as she wept on her shoulder. "If you don't want to come, we will totally understand that, but Ross needs us right now and that includes you too."

Rachel sniffled and wiped away the tears from her face. "I can't Mon, I just can't. There's just too much history and I feel like it'll just end badly if I go. Even if I tell him the truth, there's too much pain to just forget about everything that's happened. I just can't."

Monica nodded her head sadly, understanding what it must take for Rachel to go with them. "It's alright Rach, this is your choice. If you think its better if you stay here, then stay. No one's forcing you to go."

Rachel sniffled and broke the hug, wiping her eyes with a tissue. Deep down inside, she knew she wanted to go, but as much as she wanted to, she just couldn't bring herself to do it. Images of him sleeping with the copy girl flashed in her head as she remembered all the pain she had to face over the past week. She had been hurt, and so had he. Would any kind of reconciliation fix that?

She was brought out of her thoughts by the touch of someone's hand on her arm. She looked up to see Monica peering into her eyes as she put on her jacket.

"Honey, we have to go, ok? Are you sure this is what you want?"

Rachel squeezed her eyes shut and shook her head. "No… but I… I can't do it. I can't bring myself to see him like this."

Monica softly touched her friend's shoulder again. "Ok but we have to go alright? You know where we'll be if you need us."

With that, she left for the door. Chandler and Joey followed suit, also giving her soft goodbyes as they passed by. The three of them left through the door and Phoebe followed last, but not before turning to Rachel and looking her in the eyes.

"Rachel, just remember that this might be the last time you will ever see Ross again. Is this really how you want it to end?"

Rachel tearfully looked at her friend, her mind processing what she had just been told. Before she could answer, however, Phoebe turned and closed the door, leaving her alone inside the empty apartment.

She took a seat on the couch, shutting her eyes and letting the tears fall openly. Was this really how she wanted it to end? After everything she and Ross had been through, this is how they say goodbye? The last thing they had directly said to each other had been during their argument when he had come to help them. Is that the last thing she wanted him to remember her by?

Suddenly, a wave of encouragement flowed through her body. She stood up and looked at the door, easing any last minute doubts she had. Her friends were right. She had to go. It was Ross, _her_ Ross, and as bad as their break up had been, he was still the man she fell in love with. As Phoebe would say it, he was still her lobster.

She quickly grabbed a tissue and cleaned up her face, wiping away the mascara that had been ruined by her crying. She was now determined to set things straight and was prepared to do anything to make him stay. She had to do it for herself; otherwise she'd regret it for the rest of her life.

Grabbing her jacket, she made her way to the door, swiftly opening and closing it as she left the apartment.

…

A couple knocks on the door brought him away from the kitchen counter as he had been expecting them to come. Reaching the doorway, he peered into the peephole, making sure it was them before unlocking the chain and letting them in.

"Hey guys, come on in," he said as Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe piled in.

The first thing the group noticed were the large amount of boxes piled up in the living room. The kitchen table had been stripped off the ground and so had pretty much everything else. The TV, the coffee table, and the chairs that once held years of memories were gone. The only thing left were the two couches he had decided to leave behind since it wouldn't fit into the truck.

Nobody said a word and Ross could tell by his friends' faces that they were reminiscing of the times they used to hang out here. Judging by the looks on their faces, it was pretty clear that they were not happy with his decision.

"Well, uh, have a seat," he said, motioning to the coaches. He grabbed some beers he had set out on the counter and pulled up a little stool, joining his friends as they crowded onto the two couches.

"So…" he started awkwardly, popping the caps off the beers and handing it to them one by one.

"So…" Chandler repeated, taking a long sip from the bottle.

The five of them silently looked at each other, unsure of what to say.

"Um… I see that Rachel didn't come," Ross pointed out, earning some uncomfortable looks from his friends.

"Uh, yeah, uh, she had a lot of stuff to do. You know, for work and all…" Monica lied, though she didn't want to.

"Oh, ok," his disappointment clearly being shown to the others. It was obvious that Monica was lying. He just couldn't believe she wasn't going to say goodbye to him. Maybe it was for the best.

"Well, actually, she's just upstairs if you want to go and see her," Joey said, earning an elbow from Monica and Chandler.

"No, no, it's fine. It's probably better this way anyways…"

Joey nodded and took a sip from his beer as everyone else followed suit. The same awkward silence came after and they all just stared at each other, still not quite sure of what to say. Finally Ross had enough and placed his beer down on the table.

"Alright come on guys, it's my last day. I know you want to say something so just say it. Isn't that why you came down here anyways?"

The four other friends looked at each other, as if encouraging the other to start talking first. After moments of eyebrow raising and long hard stares, Joey burst open.

"You can't go to San Diego!" he yelled, quickly covering his mouth right afterwards. Chandler face-palmed at his friend's outburst but looked at Ross with a promising look.

Ross sighed. "Joey, you know that I'm leaving today. Even if I do decide to change my mind, it's too late to back out now."

"But… but what about when we go to Ranger games? Or-or get together on Saturdays to watch the Giants smack whatever team they're playing? Who am I going to do all that with if you leave?" Joey pushed on.

Chandler smacked Joey's arm and expressively gestured at himself. "Um… me?"

Joey looked him over then turned to Ross with a pleading look. "Come on, you can't leave me with him. He doesn't know anything about sports. Man, you can't do this to me!"

Ross shook his head. "Look guys, I'm not saying I won't miss you, because you know I will. But I need to do this, ok? I'm going to San Diego and nothing will change that."

"Ok, but is this what you really want to do?" Phoebe asked.

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, I feel like you're still rushing into this. Like, have you really taken the time to consider what you're leaving behind? Your friends? Your family?"

He sighed. "Phoebe, believe me. I've spent more time thinking about this than you may think, ok? I honestly think this is the best option for me. I'm moving on with my career. This job opportunity is once in a life time. I mean, I'm going to run an entire department! I can't just ignore that… can I?"

Monica suddenly stood up and stopped directly in front of her brother, looking him straight in the eyes. "I don't believe you."

"Excuse me?"

"I don't believe you're leaving just because of the job. Otherwise you would have told us about it earlier."

Ross looked down at the floor, not knowing what to say. She could see right through him; always had, always will.

"Ross, look at me," Monica demanded, taking a seat on the couch but holding onto his hands. "Be honest, why are you leaving New York?"

It was at this time when Rachel finally managed to catch up to the others. Haven ran down the street to get here, she took a moment to catch her breath before going any further. Once she felt like she was ready, she cautiously approached Ross' door, her hand shaking as she reached for the handle.

Surprisingly, she found the door left ajar and lowered her hand. She rested it on her heart, having final doubts about whether she should walk in there or not. Before she took another step, however, she heard Ross' voice from inside.

"Ok, the truth… you want the truth…"

Quickly, Rachel peeked through the open space and peered inside, spotting her five friends gathered around the two couches in Ross' living room. Across from the door, she saw Ross stumbling with words as Monica held onto his hands, waiting for a response.

"Ross," she heard Monica say, getting Ross' attention. "Are you leaving because of Rachel?"

Rachel watched attentively as Ross unhooked his hands from Monica's and ran it through his hair. He closed his eyes for a moment, as if contemplating whether to tell the truth before opening them and giving his sister a sad look.

"The truth is… yes… It is because of Rachel."

His words hurt her like a stab to the heart as she painfully stumbled away, leaning against the wall next to the door. It was true; he was leaving because of her. All of a sudden, her worst fears have been re-opened and in her already emotional state, she could no longer contain her feelings. Devastated, Rachel broke down, sliding down the wall and resting her head in her hands, trying her hardest to contain the tears that had formed and at the same time, listening in on their conversation.

"But why is it because of Rachel?" Monica asked softly. "Is it because of your break up, because that shouldn't be the reason for why you're leaving."

Ross stood up, shaking his head as he slowly paced around. "Look, ok, I don't expect you to understand my reasoning for this. I don't think either of you have had a serious break up before, and let me tell you, it hurts more than anything else in the world."

"So then work on it! You don't have to move away!" Phoebe countered.

"No, it's not that simple Phoebe. Like… it's Rachel, you know? I think back to everything we've been through and realize that when I was with her, I have never been happier. Even with Carol, no one has ever come close to how I feel about Rachel. I mean, I love her, I really do."

"Then why don't you tell her that?"

"It's complicated, ok? For one, she doesn't feel the same way… not anymore… not after what I did to her. She hates me."

"She doesn't hate you Ross. She's just angry. It'll pass by," Monica reassured but Ross just shook his head.

"No Mon, she hates me. I've seen it in her eyes. Every time I look at her, all I can see is hatred for what I did. She doesn't love me anymore. She can't even stand being in the same room as me, and for what it's worth, I can't blame her. I don't think she'll ever forgive me for what I did and I… I just can't be around to see her like that."

More tears began flowing from her eyes as she heard his words from the hallway. Did he really believe that she didn't love him anymore? Did he truly believe that she hated him? Just the thought of him thinking that she was so insensitive made her shake.

But then again, it's not like what he was saying wasn't true. Could she ever forgive him for what he did? On their anniversary nonetheless. She remembered the pain she went through when she found out she had been cheated on, yet she also remembered suggesting that they take a break hours before. All of a sudden, she realized that none of this would have happened if she had kept her mouth shut. It was her fault all this had happened, and for the entire week, she made it seem like he was to blame for everything. Only now did she finally see his point of view.

Why did she say those few words that broke their loving relationship? Was it because she was stressed that night? Was it because she was angry about the sweet gesture he made by bringing a picnic to her office? Was it because she was tired of his jealous attacks? Thinking back, none of those things proved to be proper reasons for why she decided to ruin the greatest thing that has ever happened to her. What was she thinking?

She sobbed quietly, now knowing the truth behind everything and what she had done. Was it too late… for _them_?

Inside, nobody said a word as Ross took a seat back on the stool. He grabbed his beer and looked down at the floor, swishing the liquid around in the bottle as he tried to compose himself. He could tell his friends were deep in thought, and knowing that he had already revealed so much, he may as well continue.

"It's not just that…" he said quietly, getting their attention. "Rachel… Rachel is the love of my life. I've never loved anyone more than I love her and that will probably never change. For years, I watched her go out with other guys but it would always end in a heartbreaking break up for her. When we finally got together, I promised myself that I would be different from the rest. That I would forever love and respect her, protect her from the world, and never, ever hurt her like the others had. I told myself that I would always place her first, that she would be my priority and that everything else could come afterwards. I wanted her to be happy, for her to feel comfortable and safe, and for a year I followed that promise..."

Ross looked down, a lump forming in his throat as he tried his best to hold in tears. He remembered the day he promised himself that. It was the night they had watched the prom video and Rachel had given him the most memorable kiss he's ever had. She had forgiven him for the list, and from that moment they had truly become a couple. When he went home that night he had looked in the mirror and vowed to never hurt her again. He had said to himself that this was what he had dreamed of since he was fourteen years old, and now that he had it, he couldn't mess it up. He couldn't afford to lose her again.

How he wished he could turn back time.

"I'm a failure!" he blurted out, not able to control his emotions any longer. "I blew it! My best chances at love and happiness and I blew it! It's my fault we broke up. I was jealous, over possessive. I didn't want to lose her and ended up doing exactly that. I only have myself to blame for everything that's happened."

He felt Monica's hand softly rub his arm as he openly wept. There was no use in hiding it any longer. It was his last day with them. The best thing to do was to tell the truth. He stood up, running his hand through his hair as he continued.

"I can't even look at her knowing it was me who caused all of this. I can't even look in the mirror without being disgusted at who I've become. That stupid 'we were on a break' thing is just what I say to cover up the truth, and the truth is I'm wrong. I cheated on her and can't even bring myself to admit it. I've become exactly what I promised myself I wouldn't and that is why I am leaving. I can't live a lie anymore. I can't. I don't know who Ross Gellar is anymore and I sure as hell won't find that here. I can't do this anymore. It wouldn't be fair to you, her, or even me."

"Oh honey, come here," Monica said through her own tears, standing up and bringing her brother into a tight hug. He sadly hugged back, thankful for the presence of his sister as his tears finally began to slow down.

"I just, I just want her to be happy," he confessed softly. "That's all I ever wanted for her. Someone as amazing as her deserves to be happy and I know that as long as I'm around, that'll never happen. I… I don't think I'll ever be able to move on. I've loved her for too long to just forget about her. But Rachel? She's stronger than I am. I know she'll find someone else. Someone who will care for her and never dream of hurting her. Someone who will love her forever and will give her the happiness she deserves. That's all I ever wanted for her."

Now everyone was crying and one by one, the others walked over and hugged him until the embrace became a large group hug.

"We're gonna miss you," Joey confessed and the others nodded in agreement as well.

"I'm going to miss you too," Ross said, hugging them all tighter. "Please, be there for her when she needs it, ok? She can be stubborn sometimes and not ask for help but I'm asking you to always be there for her. Help her find her happiness."

"We will," Monica answered softly and the group silently held their embrace.

Outside, Rachel couldn't stop bawling, knowing she had missed her opportunity. It was over, he was leaving. And yet, after everything, his last request was for her to be happy. Why couldn't he realize that _he_ was the one for her? That _he_ was the love of _her_ life and that she will never find anyone else like him. But it was too late now. She had lost him, just as he believed he had lost her.

Rachel got up from the ground, sadly peering into the apartment for one last look at his face. She spotted him, his eyes closed and small tears rolling down his cheek. Never again would she see those amazing eyes that she could get lost in forever. Never again would she feel his amazing lips against hers as a method to show her just how much he loved her. Never again would she feel the softness of his cheek and experience his smile that lightened up her world.

She shut her eyes tight, more tears coming from them as she silently whispered goodbye. Heartbroken, she walked away, leaving behind the love of her life and her lifetime of happiness.

Back inside, the group had finally broken their long embrace and were saying their heartfelt final goodbyes. Ross had to leave soon and so did they as they sadly approached him one by one and hugging him tightly.

"Don't forget me ok?" Phoebe said as she hugged him tight.

"Never," was all he said, squeezing her back.

Joey came up next and awkwardly stood a few steps away. They both looked at each other, tears in their eyes as they wondered who would make the first move.

"Well, uh, I guess this is it." Joey said, extending a shaky hand.

"I guess so," he replied, accepting the friendly gesture.

They shook hands for a few seconds before Joey broke down, moving forward and hugging his friend.

"Man, I can't believe you're really leaving."

"I know, I can't believe it either."

When Joey broke the hug, Chandler walked forward. Unlike Joey, he hugged Ross immediately, having known him the longest aside from Monica and Rachel. They were college roommates after all.

"Take care, alright?" he said sadly, unable to come up with any jokes at the moment.

"You too Chandler, you too," Ross repeated, patting him on the back. "Take care of her too, ok? You know how much I care about her."

"I know…"

Finally Monica came forward, having lived with him for almost her entire life, this was basically the first time she would be away from him. She knew that if she ever had a problem, he'd be there for her, through thick and thin. She couldn't have asked for a better brother to grow up beside.

"You'll call right?" she asked as she embraced him.

"Oh course I will," Ross whispered into her ear. "I could never not know what's going on with my baby sister," he said with a goofy smile.

Monica smiled back and playfully slapped his chest, looking him in the eyes.

"Come and visit sometimes. You'll always know where we are."

"I will. I love you."

"I love you too," She answered sadly as she embraced him once again.

As she broke the hug and began to leave, Ross stopped her by touching her arm.

"Hold on, before you go, can you… can you do something for me?"

"Of course," Monica accepted, unsure of what he could possibly want her to do.

She watched as Ross walked over to a pile of boxes that had not been sealed up yet. He reached into one and pulled something out, returning to Monica and handing her the object.

It was a small box, wrapped in beautiful white wrapping paper and a red ribbon on the top. The others looked at it curiously, wondering what could be inside.

"Could you… could you give this to Rachel for me?" he asked quietly. Monica saw his saddened look and realized how important this little gift was.

"What is it?" she asked.

"It…" Ross started, looking down sadly. "…it was my anniversary gift for Rachel…"

Monica's eyes popped open as she remembered what had happened on that day and why he couldn't have given it to her himself.

"Oh…" was all she could say and wondered how she was going to give it to her.

"Yeah…"

All five of them looked around the empty room, thinking back on their memories here. As time would have it, they used to come here all the time to hang out since Monica's apartment was being renovated when she first moved in. So many memories of the five of them being in here, although back then, it was them along with Carol who made six. They used to have so much fun here. It used to be a place where they went when life had them stressed out, when they could relax and laugh along with their friends. All of them smiled at the memories.

"Alright, well we should be going now," Monica said, breaking the silence. The others reluctantly nodded.

The five of them walked towards the doorway in silence and Ross opened the door for them.

"I guess this is goodbye," he said, forcing a soft smile on his face.

"Guess so…"

They stood their awkwardly, wondering what to do next until all of a sudden, the four of them gave him one more big group hug.

"We love you," Monica said for the group.

"I love you guys too."

Slowly and reluctantly, they broke the hug and Ross watched as his friends left, waving them off and giving them a last heartfelt goodbye.

He watched them disappear from his life… forever…

…

 **Author's Note: Thanks for the great reviews guys. Just to give some outside context on the story, it's going to be heavy on drama and completely unlike my previous story (sorry!). Also I've got some chapters finished from before so I'll probably update pretty frequently to start this story out and will probably return to the 1-2 chapters/week thing as normal.**

 **Thanks again for the support. Be sure to give the story a follow so you don't miss any updates (and a favorite couldn't hurt either :p). Take care.**


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

 _6 months later…_

It was a typical after noon and Monica, Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe were sitting in the apartment living room, watching some TV and hanging out as they normally did.

"Look, look, look," Chandler said, pointing at the screen. "That character is _exactly_ like my father."

Joey squinted and looked forward. "The doctor?"

"No, the flamboyant girl."

They all turned to the TV and paid close attention to the character Chandler was talking about. Sure enough, the camera switched to a scene where she started talking and they all nodded their heads and laughed.

"Ohhh…" they all said at once, understanding Chandler's joke.

It had been six months since Ross left New York and though they have had all that time to be reacquainted, it still wasn't the same without him. Their group meetings felt bland, the coffee at the coffee house felt different, and soon they realized that it would be a while until they got used to his absence.

Sure enough, he had kept his promise and every so often he would call in and say "hi". The only problem was that that was all he did. It was always a simple "hey" or "how's everyone doing?" Never has he called and talked about something meaningful. Furthermore, their calls would be cut short as he always had an excuse of getting out of it. Whether it be problems at work or meetings with friends, the group began to feel like he was slowly drifting away from them. None of them knew how he was doing or what he had been up to for the past six months. It was as if he was trying to push them out of his life. It was this revelation that sparked up the idea of going to visit him in San Diego for a few weeks.

"I miss Ross," Joey blurted out.

"Me too," Chandler agreed, muting the TV as they all fell into an awkward silence.

"Do you guys remember when he would come in and give his sad 'hi'?" Monica said, thinking about her brother's signature entrance.

"Yeah, yeah! It was like… _hi_ …" Phoebe said, giving her best Ross impression.

"No no, it was more like… _hhiiii_ …" Joey countered, making them all laugh.

Slowly their laughter died down, being replaced by the awkward silence again as they all reminisced about the past.

"Have we decided if we're going to visit him in San Diego?" Chandler asked, remembering their talk the other night.

"No, not yet," Monica responded. "I haven't even told Rachel about it so until we do, we can't decide anything."

Her statement resulted in groans from the others.

"Easier said than done Mon," Joey said, taking a sip from his beer.

"Yeah, she's been a mess since he's left," Chandler added. "Good luck bringing that up without opening a can of worms."

"Come on, it won't be that bad," Monica argued, mostly trying to convince herself. "I mean, this is her ninth date this month. That means that she's moving on right?"

"Well yeah, it would… if those dates weren't set up by us," Chandler pointed out. "Face it Mon, you live with her. We all know she can't go to sleep without crying her eyes out at night."

Monica sighed, knowing that he was right.

"Alright, well I'm not going to do it alone right?" she asked and everyone looked away. "Right?!" she asked louder, getting the same response. Fed up, she looked at Phoebe and gave her the best puppy dog look she could do.

"Phoebe you'll come and ask Rachel with me right?"

Phoebe struggled to not say yes but Monica's puppy dog eyes were just too convincing. "Oh alright!" she blurted, standing up and throwing her arms up in defeat. "Just stop the puppy dog eyes, it's too much."

"Thank you," Monica said with a smile, settling back down on the couch and drinking some beer to calm her nerves.

Before they un-muted the TV, the door opened behind them and they all turned to see Rachel walk in silently. She didn't bother looking at them as she hung up her jacket but just by looking at her facial expression, the others knew something was bothering her.

Rachel walked over to the couch and sat down, not saying a word. She hung her head and looked at the ground as everyone awkwardly waited for something to happen.

"Rachel…" Monica started, gently rubbing her friend's arm. "…how was the date?"

"Awful Mon, it was awful," she answered sadly and the others sighed. "He was this really great guy; sweet, kind, and funny too. He brought me to this fancy Italian restaurant and we just talked for the entire time."

"So why was it awful?"

Rachel looked down. "Because…because he wasn't _him_ … When we were talking, all I could think about was _him_ and how this guy in front of me lacked everything _he_ had. Halfway through, I just got up, thanked him and left."

Monica pouted and rubbed her friend's arm. "Oh sweetie…"

"I don't get it!" She said all of a sudden, standing up and pacing around the room. "Why can't I just move on? I mean, I go on dates with these amazing guys but all I can think about is him! Why can't I get over him?"

Before anyone could answer, Rachel sat back down and pulled Monica into a tight embrace. Caught off guard, she began rubbing her friend's back.

"I miss him so much…"

"I know sweetie. So do we…" Monica answered, shooting a look to the others that said 'what do I do now?'

Gently Monica broke the embrace, reaching over and handing her a tissue to wipe the small tear that had trickled down her cheek.

"I… I need to be alone for a little while," Rachel said, standing up.

"Ok, we'll be right here if you need us."

She nodded and headed towards her room, closing the door behind her as she disappeared inside.

The first thing she did was fall flat on her bed, grabbing her 'cry pillow' and shoving her face into it. From then on, only the sound of a muffled sob could be heard as she let her tears fall onto the pillow, as they did every night.

 _Why can't I get over him?_ She repeated in her head. She knew that she had to. She couldn't keep going on this way. She couldn't even go on a date without breaking down, but it was as if her brain was telling her one thing while her heart told her another. Her brain told her to move on and forget about him but her heart told her otherwise. Her heart told her that it wasn't too late, and that she could still get him back if she stopped hiding her true feelings.

Her brain and her heart had two different opinions and Rachel herself was caught in the middle. Should she do what she has to do, or what she wants to do?

For half a year this question had bothered her to her very core. It was what got her thinking for the first five months, and what keeps her up every night. Only on the sixth month did she start trying to move on, going on dates that her friends have set up. But no matter how handsome, or funny, or sweet the guy is, none of them could even come close to comparing to Ross.

Her mind wandered a bit and thought back to what started all of this: their break up. Over six months, she had gone over their breakup more than a million times in her head, trying to figure out what exactly went wrong. And every time she thought about it, she could always find something new that she did wrong and what she should have done differently.

She had been so quick to judge, so quick to blame him that she never had the time to truly appreciate what he had done for her. It started on their anniversary, when he had surprised her at her work with a picnic. She should have melted over the sweet gesture, knowing her boyfriend would go to extreme levels to see her. Instead, she had gotten angry, stressed out about all her work, she had kicked him out of her office and told him to go home.

Then, when she had gotten home later that night, they began to argue. She remembered stating that he wasn't giving her space, that he wasn't understanding enough of how important her job was. Thinking back on it, she realized that she was completely wrong. He had given her space, and even more. His exact line was "I'm tired of having a relationship with your answering machine", and now that she had time to go over it, she realized he was totally right.

After, she made the fatal mistake of suggesting they take a break. She had been so caught up in the moment that she just let those words slip out of her mouth without thinking. At first, he had agreed, saying something on the lines of frozen yogurt, but that was not what she meant. Without even considering the consequences, she corrected herself, stating "a break from us."

To this day, those words still haunt her in her dreams. It was one of the worst nightmares a person could ever had, having their biggest life mistake blatantly repeated over and over again until it drives them crazy. For her, it meant being emotionally traumatized; something that affected her life inside and out.

She thought back to when she found out about how he had slept with another girl. She remembered their horrible fight where he had tried to win her back but she had pushed him away. She remembered the words he had said, his touch, and his attempt to kiss her. And then she remembered the look on his face when she said that it was over.

Now, over six months since that day, she finally realized her true emotions. And those emotions were of regret and despair.

She no longer blamed him for sleeping with someone else. In fact, she would have probably done the same thing if she had heard another woman with him over the phone. She realized that Ross' jealousy had never been intended to hurt her or possess her, but rather to protect her. And as it turned out, he had been right about Mark and that she had been played the entire time.

But the biggest realization both hit her like a pile of bricks and also lifted the weight of the world off her shoulders.

She was on the path to forgive him.

That's not to say she had forgiven him, however. It simply meant that she was healing and that understanding his intentions and motives made her see a light at the end of the tunnel she hadn't seen before.

She only wished he was still around for her to tell him that.

Breaking out of her thoughts, she lifted her head off her 'cry pillow', looking at herself in her makeup mirror. One look and she realized just how pathetic she really was. Moping around and crying for someone she had let go herself. She was both grateful and curious of how her friends could have stuck around with her for so long. She must be a real pain to have around.

All of a sudden, her eyes shifted and landed on something she hadn't noticed before. She slowly moved off her bed, walking over to her desk where she saw it: a small box with beautiful wrapping paper and a little red ribbon on top. She had no idea how long it had been sitting there or how it even got there in the first place.

She lifted it slowly, inspecting its sides and edges, trying to figure out where it came from. She was about to open it up when it hit her, and boy did it hit her hard.

Her eyes widened and she practically dropped the gift on the ground as she fell into her chair. She remembered where it came from; Monica had given it to her on the night Ross left New York. It was his anniversary gift to her, the one that never made it to her hands since they had fought and broken up before he could. When she had first received it she couldn't bring herself to opening it so she must have just set it on her desk. Now, after six months of pain and sorrow, she looked at the anniversary gift as a last beacon of hope. It was the last thing she had of him, her last memory. She began debating whether she should open it or not.

Realizing that six months had been long enough, she took a deep breath and placed her hands on the lid. Slowly, she slid the lid off, revealing the contents inside the box.

Surprisingly, inside the box was another one, only this time it was blue and covered in velvet. She gently lifted it out, wondering what could be inside. The box itself looked to be used for holding jewelry so her best guess was perhaps a necklace or a pair of earrings.

Before she opened the velvet box, she spotted something else inside the gift box. She gently lifted out a slip of paper that had been folded multiple times to be fitted inside the tiny box. Slowly, she began unfolding the paper, one layer at a time. When she unfolded the second last crease, she saw the word _**Rachel**_ written across the center. Knowing that it was left for her, she undid the last fold and looked at what it was.

 _A letter_ , she said to herself, scanning over the page before setting it down on the desk.

She looked at the letter and the velvet box, wondering which to look at first. She ultimately decided on the letter, seeming like the first thing Ross would have wanted her to read. She picked it up and began reading, and right away a lump got caught up in her throat from the opening words.

 _Rachel, my love, my life, my Rachel,_

 _I cannot even begin to describe how sorry I am. I never meant to hurt you, I would never dream of doing that to someone like you, but as we both know, it ended up happening anyways. I am sorry, I truly am. What I did was horrible and I regret every second of it. It was our anniversary and I had gone out and done that, and forever will I hold the shame that follows my actions. I don't expect forgiveness for what I did. In fact, I don't expect to forgive myself either. Just know that I am truly sorry for the pain I have caused you and know that you will never have to deal with it again._

 _Rachel, whatever has happened between us, I just want you to know that you are the best thing that has ever happened to me. Ever since the first day I met you back in the ninth grade, I couldn't stop thinking about you. You were the most beautiful person in the world to me, an angel sent down from the heavens. I adored you and soon, I fell in love with you; something I hid for almost ten years._

 _When you walked in the coffee shop that fateful day, dressed in your wedding gown and looking around for Monica, instantly my feelings for you resurfaced. It was as if fate had brought you back to me and just one look at you revealed just how much I was in love with you. I will admit, the next year was hell for me as I watched you adjust to life in the city. For so long, did I want to confess my feelings to you, but there always seemed to be something or someone in the way. Whether it be a boyfriend, an ex-boyfriend, or even a baby, I never found the time to tell you how I felt, and soon, I found myself trapped in an endless loop between love and friendship._

 _Then, after I began dating Julie, I found out about your feelings towards me, and let me tell you how grateful I felt when I heard you confess that to me. For so long, I felt as though getting together with you was only a fantasy. Something that could only exist in my dreams, but your confession changed everything. I broke up with Julie to be with you, the woman I loved, but as we know, we didn't exactly come together right away. It took a prom video of the past for you to see how much I cared about you, and when you had kissed me that night, I felt as though I was in heaven._

 _We started going out and during this time, it was the happiest I have ever been in my life. I had finally gotten everything I had ever wanted in life, and that was you. Sure, we had our occasional arguments, but at the end of the day, we would come to each other for comfort and safety. Over our year together, I fell in love you more every day. There are so many memories I will forever cherish, so many moments where I told myself that I didn't want to be anywhere else but with you._

 _As our one year anniversary rolled around, I did some self-reflection, thinking about what I wanted in life and what I already had. I realized that you were my everything and that I would give up anything to be with you forever, and since you were already mine, I wanted to make sure I would never let you go, ever. I loved you Rachel, from the bottom of my heart, I truly did. And just the thought of losing you made me realize that I had to seize the day. I realized that I couldn't lose you, and if I ever did, it would probably kill me. So, I set-up something for our anniversary; something that would show you just how much I love you and just how much I want to be with you. Something that would be special for the both of us and one that we'd never forget. Rachel, not once did I have any doubts about what I was planning on doing, but as we both know, I never got around to doing it._

 _What's inside the box is what I had planned on giving you. To me, it was a symbol of eternal love that no matter what would happen; we would never be separated from each other. Now, however, it represents the past, present, future. It represents my promise to myself and to you, that I would make you the happiest and most beloved person in the world. It represents my regret for what had happened between us and what could have happened if I hadn't been selfish and ignorant. But most of all, it represents the future. Our future, and by the time you read this letter, you can probably guess that I don't mean a future together._

 _Rachel, this gift from me to you symbolizes the love we once shared, and the future I had planned for us. Now, it represents me moving on. I will never stop loving you, I know that for sure. I couldn't when we were younger and don't expect to start now. But I know that I have to let you go because the only thing more important to me than love, is you. I want you to be happy Rachel, I really do. And I know that as long as I stay in New York, you wouldn't be able to find happiness. Please, accept my gift and move forward with your life. I know one day, you will find someone who appreciates you, and will care for you and love you just as I had. I hope this person will never hurt you, and might one day, present my gift to you as their own._

 _I love you Rachel Green. You will always be the love of my life: my beautiful angel. I will never forget you, but I hope you will forget me. You are the most beautiful and most amazing person I have ever met in my life. Don't let other people change you Rachel. Be yourself. Be the woman I fell in love with. Live life and find happiness. You deserve every bit of it._

 _This is goodbye,_

 _Ross Geller_

As she placed the letter down on her desk with a shaky hand, Rachel broke down crying. Her heart shattered at the thought of Ross' words. They were the most beautiful words anyone has ever said to her. They were genuine, and only aspired by love. Yet, it pained her to know that she would never have the chance to tell him her feelings.

With tears already streaming down her face, Rachel sadly turned to the small velvet box, still not sure what was in it. Though his message was clear, Ross had not specifically stated what was inside, and knowing what it represented, she was scared to open it.

Wiping her watery eyes, Rachel found the courage to continue. Taking a deep breath, she opened the lid, and what she saw stopped her heart.

…

Outside in the living room, the four other friends didn't quite know exactly what to do at this point. It seemed clear to them that Rachel was not ready to move on from Ross, and as it may have it, their attempts of helping her move on seem to be hurting her more than helping her.

"So what are we gonna do?" Joey asked.

"I don't know… God, why does life have to be so complicated," Monica expressed, throwing her hands up in defeat.

"Maybe we should give her some space," Chandler suggested.

"Dude, she's had six months of space. You'd think half a year would have helped her by now," Joey said, earning blank looks from Monica and Chandler.

"Guys honestly, I think the best thing we can do is go and visit him in San Diego," Phoebe stated, standing up from the floor.

"You think?"

"Yeah, I mean, it's not like we have any other choice. Rachel can't go on like this, and neither can we. Maybe if we go and visit him, they'll be able to talk it over, or at the very least, help her get over him, you know?"

The others nodded, realizing that what Phoebe was saying is true. Life was only going to get harder so why not take a risk?

"Ok…" Chandler agreed, sitting up from his chair. "But what if she says she doesn't want to go?"

"Well then we're going to have to be the most convincing we've ever been in our lives," Monica answered, standing up and lifting a hand towards Phoebe. "Come on Pheebs, we'll ask her now."

"Oh alright…" she muttered, walking over to Monica as they faced Rachel's door. At the same time, Joey and Chandler jumped and raced behind the couch for safety, earning strange looks from the two girls.

"What the hell are you doing?" Monica questioned, seeing them poke their heads out from behind the couch.

"Hey, better safe than sorry," Chandler answered with Joey nodding and raising his eyebrows in agreement.

"Girls…" Phoebe muttered under her breath as the two girls slowly approached Rachel's door.

Before they even got close however, the door swung open and out came a very saddened Rachel. There were tears streaming down her face and the mascara that she had put on for her date was ruined. One hand cupped her mouth as if she was in shock while the other clutched onto what seemed like a tiny velvet box and a piece of paper.

Seeing their friend in tears, Chandler and Joey quickly got up from behind the couch and joined the girls as they slowly led Rachel to sit on the coffee table.

"He… he…. I can't believe…. he…" Rachel blubbered between tears, unable to properly communicate.

"Honey, honey, you need to take a deep breath, ok?" Monica reassured as Phoebe wrapped an arm around her and rubbed her arm. "What happened?"

Taking a deep breath, Rachel tried to find the right words as she struggled to stop the tears that were flowing from her eyes. "The-the white box… anniversary gift… he… I… the letter…"

"Anniversary gift?" Chandler asked, repeating the few clear words in her blubber.

"You mean that little white box I gave you six months ago?" Monica asked gently and Rachel nodded her head. "You mean you only opened it now?"

"I… I couldn't do it before… and now… now… he was going to…"

"Rachel breath, breath," Phoebe reassured as she led her in some deep breathing exercises.

"What was in the box?" Joey asked a minute later, seeing that the Phoebe's counseling had calmed her down a bit.

Rachel looked up, her blue eyes glistening in the light from her tears. She felt the words drift out of her mouth before she could even think about them.

"He was going to propose."

"What?" Monica and Chandler exclaimed at the same time, leading them both to stand in front of Rachel and stare at her.

"What?" Monica repeated. "He was going to propose?"

Rachel sniffled as more tears began to appear. She sadly nodded her head, handing Monica the velvet box.

"My anniversary gift… my gift was he was going to ask me to marry him," she explained as Monica opened the box.

Inside was a beautiful white gold engagement ring with a glimmering two carat diamond on the top. Monica and Phoebe gasped, raising their hands to their mouths while the guys stared in disbelief.

"Oh my God," Monica exclaimed, still in shock.

"I know…" Rachel cried softly.

"Oh my God!" Monica exclaimed even louder, this time earning a quick elbow from Chandler to remind her that Rachel was right in front of her. "Sorry, I just… I can't believe he was going to propose!"

Chandler reached over and plucked the velvet box from Monica's frozen hand, giving himself a better view of the ring. "Holy crap, this must have cost him a fortune." Phoebe and Joey leaned in for a better look as well and nodded in agreement.

"He said…" Rachel stammered. "…he said that he never wanted to let me go and… and that I was the greatest thing that has ever happened to him… so for our anniversary he was going to propose."

"Oh my god, that's so sweet," Monica coed, making Rachel cry harder. "What? What? Rachel why are you crying? Did you say no?"

"No! He never proposed!" she cried, almost out of anger. "He was going to propose on our anniversary but we broke up and he never got the chance to ask me!"

"Oh…" they said quietly, understanding why she was so emotional.

"Honey I'm so sorry," Monica said, pulling her friend into a hug.

"It's all my fault Mon," Rachel said as she cried into her shoulder. "If I had kept my mouth shut or, or hadn't given up on us so easily, then he would have asked me and I would have been the happiest person in the world. Instead, we broke up and now he's living on the other side of the country because of me!"

"But what about the ring?" Chandler asked, holding it up. "I mean, he's not just giving it to you without a reason, right? Maybe it's his way of saying that he'll be back."

Rachel sniffled and shook her head. "No, he… he said it represented his love for me, but that he's giving it to me so that he can move on. He… he wants me to find someone else and hopes that they'll propose to me with it. It's all in the letter."

Chandler noticed the letter next to her, picking it up and scanning over it. As he read it over, his heart ached at Ross' words. He never knew Ross could be so emotional, but then again, it was Rachel.

"Oh my God..." was all he could say before passing on the letter to the Phoebe to read.

"Monica, I don't want to find someone else!" Rachel blurted out, breaking their hug. "I love him! I'll never love anyone else like I love him! Why is he doing this?"

"Honey, you know that he left because he thought it would be the best for both of you. You've both hurt each other so much already. He only wants the best for you, you know that Rach."

Rachel teared up and looked to the floor, thinking of what to do next. She knew that she had to make a decision. Either listen to her mind and move on, just like he was, or follow her heart and do everything she can to win him back.

For once in her life, she followed her heart.

"Mon…" she said quietly, getting her friend's attention. "…I want him back…"

"What?" Monica asked, not believing what she just said.

"I want him back!" she repeated with so much emotion, it shook all of their hearts. "I may not be ready to forgive him completely but I still love him. I love him; I want to be with him again!"

Everyone in the room shared a look with each other. Here was Rachel, confessing that she wanted to get back together with him, despite what had happened. Here she was, willing to work on things while he's on the other side of the country. Maybe they've been going about it all wrong. They shouldn't be trying to get her to move on; they should be trying to bring Ross back.

"I miss him so much…" Rachel whispered quietly, looking down as she wiped a tear from her eye.

Suddenly Phoebe remembered something they had talked about and gently tapped her on the shoulder.

"Uh, Rachel, we've been meaning to ask you. We're planning on going to San Diego to visit him for a bit. Do you want to come with us?"

All of a sudden, Phoebe's offer sparked a hope in her future. She could feel her heart warming up, telling her that this was her chance she was looking for. If she went down with the others, she could finally express her feelings to him and hopefully win him back.

Looking down, she noticed the beautiful engagement ring Phoebe had placed down next to her. She watched it sparkle in the light, knowing that that was exactly how _he_ sparkled for her. He was right in his letter; someone was going to give her that ring. And she was determined that that someone would be him.

She grabbed the velvet box and closed it, looking up with the biggest smile she's had in six months. She was still tearing up, but now, she knew what she wanted and what she was going to do. She was going to follow her heart and win back the only person who would ever complete her.

She was going to give him a second chance.

"When do we leave?"

…

 **Author's Note: Sorry for the long paragraphs of texts, that letter specifically. Believe it or not but I actually cut out a ton because it was basically repeating itself from different perspectives. Not sure why my old-self wanted to convey whatever that message was so badly. A spur of the moment I guess.**

 **Also yes, I know that ring/proposal thing is very similar to the one in Forgetful Love. Some back story, that idea originally was meant to be for this story but since I never ended up finishing this one, I decided to use it in Forgetful Love, thinking I'd never end up publishing this story anyways. Lo and behold, I'm publishing it, so just a little disclaimer now, you'll probably see bits and pieces of my previous stories scattered in this one. I don't like re-using ideas but technically this story came first before the others so I'm just going to roll with it.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

The group nervously shuffled forward, the large golden numbers 3-1-7 on the door staring at them in the face.

They didn't know what to expect. It wasn't as if Ross was expecting them to visit and though they were his friends, they had noticed him being particularly distant recently. Perhaps he was just busy, or perhaps it was his way of showing that he was moving on in life without them.

Either way, Joey had brought up the possibility that maybe Ross didn't want them to visit. Of course, it was too late now as they were already in San Diego, but just the idea of him not wanting them there gave them second thoughts.

The trip from New York to San Diego had been a nightmare. In the morning, they had almost missed a flight because Chandler had decided to joke about being in possession of bombs, right in front of airport security and a sign that pretty much said "No Joking About Bombs". They had all spent half an hour in custody before being released, which resulted in all five of them sprinting towards their gate before it closed.

The plane ride over had been long and tedious, perhaps the longest 6 hours of Rachel's life. She found out the hard way that airplanes brought out the worst in her friends. If it wasn't Joey's obnoxious snoring, it was Phoebe's 'cleansing aura' movements, or Monica's germophobic obsessions. The only one who she could have talked to without wanting to pull her hair out was Chandler, with the exception of his lame jokes, but she ended up spending the plane ride in her own thoughts anyways.

When they landed in San Diego, things were finally looking up until they found out Joey's luggage had mistakenly been sent to Minnesota. The group had been forced to wait in the airport for another three hours to wait for it and they ended up eating extremely greasy pizza from Gino's.

By the time they got all their stuff and left the airport, it was already five o'clock in the evening. Tired, dirty, and wanting to rest, the group had argued whether to check into their hotel first or visit Ross. It was Rachel's deciding vote who won it, and choosing to follow her heart once again, chose to find Ross before any sleeping arrangements were made.

Following the address Ross had given them before he left, the group had finally found his apartment building, located in the heart of the rather noisy city, although after living in the Big Apple for several years, to them the noise was nothing. They had all crowded into the elevator, leaving their luggage at the front desk and walked around the third floor, eventually finding his door to be the last one down the hall.

Though the entire trip may have been long and tedious, it had given Rachel the proper time to think about things. She had thought about her wants and needs in life, as well as the people who made her life worth living. Then she thought about _him_ , and everything he had done for her during their years together, both friend and lover. Ross was someone she could always go to for comfort, and though Monica is her best friend, it was arguable that Ross knew her better than anyone else. Further on those lines, she began thinking of how happy he made her feel. How he had always treated her better than himself, rushing to her aid and giving up things for her well being. Then, when they had gotten together, she couldn't remember a time that she had been happier. As it turned out, she and Ross made a perfect couple, bringing out the best in each other. He was her lobster after all.

But then her thoughts turned negative as she thought of the pain they had caused each other. Their arguments, their break ups, and their fights. By no means was their relationship a stable one; that was for sure. There had always been bumps in the road and issues that would arise between them. But at the end of the day, they had always come back to each other, and that's what made them closer. That's what made her love him more and more each day.

All this reminiscing and Rachel began feeling more and more confident. She was ready to pour her heart out for him, to show him just how much he meant to her and that she couldn't live without him. And just as her confidence was rising, it all came crumbling down when she realized the reality of it all.

Ross had not moved to San Diego solely because they broke up. He had moved because he was tired of hurting her and decided that it was better for them to be apart than to be together.

It was this that made her begin having self-doubt. All of a sudden, the wave of confidence was replaced with fear; the fear of being rejected, the fear of things not turning out the way she expects. What if he didn't take her back? What if he had moved on and no longer loved her? What if he was with someone else?

All these thoughts passed by and all of a sudden, she was scared of seeing him again. Her entire future was being determined on his response. She was essentially giving him her life and telling him to choose a path for her. One path led to eternal love and happiness, but required a large amount of risks and sacrifices. The other led to sadness and despair, knowing that they would never be together again, but was safer and didn't include any risks. If the safer path was chosen, she would know exactly what would happen next, yet she was neither prepared nor ready for it. Meanwhile, if the riskier path was taken, she was ready to go through life's hardship to be with him. The question was, would he be willing to do that for her?

She only hoped that he would choose the right path, for the both of them.

Snapping out of her thoughts and back into reality, her heart began beating faster and faster to a point where she felt like she was going to explode. Somehow Phoebe sensed her discomfort and grabbed her arm to stabilize her and she quickly shot her a thankful look, trying the best she could to calm herself down. Taking deep breaths, she watched intensely as Chandler and Monica approached the door.

"This is it," he said, turning towards her. "Rach, you ready?"

She gave a weak smile and nodded silently. It was all she could bring herself to do.

Chandler faced Monica and gave her a look that told her that they were ready. A moment later, Monica balled her hand into a fist and knocked on the door.

 _Knock, knock, knock._

Rachel held her breath as they awaited someone to answer the door. Her heart raced and she felt a small bead of sweat slide down her face. Never had she been this nervous in her life.

After what felt like an hour, the sound of a lock being clicked open was heard from behind the door. In one fluent motion, the door swung open and a man appeared from behind, letting Rachel exhale and sigh in relief.

"Hi, we're looking for Ross Gellar," Monica greeted. The man looked young, perhaps in his early-twenties and had long, curly brown hair that extended down to his shoulders. He sported a look of curiosity on his face as he inspected each and every one of them, as if trying to piece together who they were.

"Sorry, are you guys with the museum?" he asked, scanning them over again.

"No, uh, we're old friends of Ross'," Chandler explained. "We flew down from New York to visit him and this was the last address he gave us."

The man raised his eyebrow. "New York, huh? Ross never mentioned living in New York. Guess it just never came up."

Chandler scratched his head, unsure of what to make of it.

"I think it's nice of you guys to visit him but I think he might have given you the wrong address. Ross moved out about three months ago. I was his roommate for about two of the three months he lived here before he said something about buying a house closer to work. Nice guy, really down to earth and funny too. I wouldn't mind catching up with him again."

"Well do you know if he left his new address, or a number, or something?" Monica asked.

The man shrugged. "Sorry, he didn't even tell me which area he moved too."

"Oh ok. Thanks anyways."

Monica looked down and began walking away with Chandler close behind. With no clues to where her brother was, it would take forever to find him. She worried about how Rachel was taking it as she knew that she was dying to see him again.

"Wait, actually I might have something…" the man suddenly said, scratching his chin while the group perked up at his revelation. "Yeah, you know, I think I might have the address to the museum. Anyone got the time?"

Chandler checked his watch. "Quarter past five. Why?"

The man clapped and smiled. "Perfect, he usually gets off work at around six-thirty so you should be able to catch up with him if you hurry. Let me go see if I still have the address."

The group watched as the man disappeared into the apartment. A moment later, he reappeared with a slip of paper, handing it to Monica.

"Here, that's the address to his work. It's about twenty minutes away from here but shorter if you avoid going through the city. Traffic at this time is killer."

Monica read the slip of paper and smiled, turning to the man and shaking his hand.

"Thank you so much. We would have spent days looking for him."

The man laughed. "Ah don't mention it, although you probably wouldn't have spent that long looking for him. He's always in the paper and on magazines and stuff. Anyways, good luck. Oh, and tell Ross I say 'hi'."

"Sure thing," Chandler answered. The group turned to walk back to the elevator while the man returned back into his apartment.

"Well, we've got the address. Guess we better get going if we want to catch him before he leaves." Monica pointed out.

"What did he mean by 'always in the paper and on magazines'?" Joey asked, remembering what the man had said at the end.

"Don't know," she shrugged. "Guess we'll have to see for ourselves"

…

The group ended up arriving at the museum at around six-fifteen since they didn't know the city too well and ended up directing the taxi driver straight into traffic. By then, the sun was beginning to set and as they got out paying the taxi driver, they couldn't help but look at the amazing view.

The museum was located near the ocean, giving them a perfect look at the sun's beauty reflect against the calm waters. The museum itself was also a sight to behold as its modernized structure made it stand out from the rest of the city. It covered a huge chunk of land, extending from one end of the bay to the other and was beautifully designed with quartz and other material that made it shimmer in the sunlight.

"Are we just going to stand here or are we going to go inside?" Chandler asked, reminding them of the time.

"Oh right, let's go."

Pulling their luggage with them, the group entered the museum's main doors. The first thing they noticed was the large area that made up the lobby. Off to the side were large sofas, and in the middle was a beautiful fountain that complimented the design of the museum nicely. The reception desk was beyond the fountain, just visible enough as they walked in.

"Ok you guys stay here while we go ask the receptionist where we can find Ross," Monica said, leaving her luggage next to the large sofa. The other girls did the same.

"Watch our stuff," Phoebe reminded but saw that Chandler and Joey were no longer listening. Instead, they had strewn themselves across the sofas, enjoying the relaxing feeling of comfort after a long day. The girls rolled their eyes as they walked away towards the reception desk.

The museum was pretty empty, probably due to the fact that parts of it were still being built and that it was late in the day. As the girls approached the reception desk, they spotted the receptionist behind the counter, talking on the phone with her back turned towards them.

"Excuse me," Monica said, getting the receptionist's attention. She saw the three girls in front of her and said her goodbyes on the phone, placing it down on the counter.

"Hi," Monica greeted again.

"I'm sorry; the museum closes after six on Fridays. If you want, you can come back tomorrow morning. We'll be open at eight," the receptionist said.

"No, um, actually, we're here to see a friend. Do you know where we can find a Ross Gellar?"

The receptionist raised her eyebrow at the mention of his name. "Dr. Gellar? Not again…"

"What?" Monica asked, confused of why it was such a bad thing. "Was it something I said?"

The receptionist shook her head and stood up. "Ladies, please. Dr. Gellar has enough on his plate at the moment without having you distract him all the time. If you want to flirt with him, you're going to have to do it when he's not busy. I've already told you he goes on break at around noon and at around four so you are free to visit him then."

Phoebe and Monica's eyes widened while Rachel took it like a stab in the heart. Ross had girls flirting with him on a constant basis? Maybe he did move on. Just the thought of losing him to a bunch of horny chicks made her want to turn around and head back to New York.

"Flirt?" Monica repeated in disbelief. She shook her head, remembering why they were there in the first place. "No, no, we're friends of his from New York visiting him. In fact, I'm his sister, Monica Gellar."

The receptionist looked the three of them over, specifically Monica, having claimed to be his sister. She had heard the sister excuse before but the three girls in front of her genuinely seemed like friends of his. Although, they did _look_ like the girls that show up at random times to see him.

"Alright, let me see if he's in his office," the receptionist responded, dialing in a number and bringing the phone to her ear.

A moment later, she hung up the phone, turning to her computer and typing something in.

"He's not in his office right now, and looking at his time table, he might be out back. Let me check."

The three girls watched the receptionist reach into her desk and pull out a walkie-talkie, pulling the antenna up and pressing a button on the side to speak.

"Dr. Gellar, you have some visitors."

" _Again? Angela, I'm not planning on working overtime today. Can't you tell them I'm busy?_ "

Even though it was muffled through the walkie-talkie, Rachel immediately recognized the sweet sound of his voice. Just from hearing it again got her heart pounding as she was now extremely eager to see him.

"Sorry but they seem pretty set on seeing you."

" _Alright, bring them in. I'm out back in the loading bay._ "

"Ok, I'll be sending them now."

Angela placed the walkie-talkie down and turned to the girls with a smile. "Yup, he's out back. To get to the loading bay, just follow the hallway to the left and you'll see the Employees Only door. It should be open so you can just walk in and follow the signs that lead to the loading bay."

"Ok, thank you," the three of them chorused. They waved for Joey and Chandler to come over with their luggage and a moment later, the five of them journeyed through the large museum hallway.

Rachel had to admit, the new museum was like none she's ever seen before. The walls and floor tile provided a comforting, yet satisfying feel to them, giving the art that was on display a more natural touch. For once in their lifetime, the five of them travelled through the museum hallway actually engrossed in what was being shown. Joey even pointed out some paintings that he found interesting, surprising everyone that he was actually interested in the art.

It didn't take long for them to find the Employees Only door as it was the only door that had not been decorated to match whatever art section there was. The group followed through the giant doors, leading them to a large open area with trolley carts and other museum artifacts that were not yet ready to be put on display. A large arrow on the ground read ' _Loading Bay_ 'so the group did what they were told and followed the large signs that led them to their destination.

The loading bay was not what they expected. With their first steps through the large hanger-like doors, they were immediately hit with the salt water breeze and the feelings of fresh air flowing into their nostrils. The loading bay was a large open area behind the actual museum where artifacts and other materials would be shipped and exported across seas. The docks were located further down the left side where a single ship remained. Stacked all against the walls were large crates with huge ' **FRAGILE** 's written across the sides in red bolded paint, either ready to be shipped out or having been delivered and merely placed there for the time being.

Before they took another step forward, the group looked out at the ocean view, watching the mesmerizing sunset dance across the ocean waters. For Rachel, it calmed her nerves as she blocked out everything else that was on her mind and merely stared at the peaceful scene in front of her. It surprised her that even in such a loud and noisy town as San Diego that nature would still manage to show off its beauty. She closed her eyes and smiled, raising her arms and just letting the breeze take her breath away until she felt a tap on her shoulder.

"Rach, if you want to find your boyfriend before he leaves, you better get your ass moving," Monica teased.

Rachel shot her a sarcastic smile and followed along but secretly took a moment to gulp. It had been a while since she ever referred to Ross as her 'boyfriend' and just hearing that word got her nerves worked up again. She took a moment to straighten out her blue blouse, one that she knew Ross liked, and ran her hand through her hair. It was just one of those things she did when she was nervous and now was one of those times.

"If you were a paleontologist, where would you be?" Joey joked as the five of them walked along the loading bay.

"Well, probably sticking my head in a pile of dead animals and going ' _oooh_ , what kind of bone is this?'" Chandler smirked and the group had a good laugh.

As they turned the corner on a large crate that had been blocking the middle of the side, all of them stopped and froze. A few feet away stood a man with his back turned towards them, working on what looked like a fossil he had set up on top of some crates. He was tall and _very_ physically built as his white muscle shirt really emphasized his toned muscles. The group stared at him as he tapped his clip board and wrote something down.

"Oh my God, is that him?" Chandler whispered to the others.

Monica looked the man over again and shook her head. "It looks like him from the back but at the same time, it doesn't."

The five of them looked at each other, unsure of what to do until Phoebe stepped forward and motioned for them to follow her.

"Ross?" she asked.

Rachel's jaw dropped to the floor when the man turned around and revealed his face. Sure enough, it was Ross, but not the same Ross they had known back in New York. He had let his hair grow out without the use of gel, and his natural brown flow made him look very handsome. He still had the same large brown eyes and soft lips that she loved, but he sported well shaven stubble that gave him that rugged and powerful look. His skin was nicely toned and tanned and his body was extremely fit. Rachel couldn't keep her eyes off of him as her attraction towards him grew by the second. Her heart pounded and she felt a bead of sweat roll down her neck.

"Phoebe?" Ross asked, just as shocked as they were. He placed his clip board and walked over. "Monica? Oh my God, what are you guys doing here?"

"Surprise!" Monica smiled and gave her brother a hug. In return, he lifted her up in the air and kissed her on the cheek.

"What a surprise! I was expecting visitors but I had no idea that it'd be you guys!"

"Yeah well, that's us!" Phoebe exclaimed.

"Phoebe! You look amazing!" he said as he embraced her.

"Aww shucks," she squealed in delight as she too was lifted up in the air and given a kiss on the cheek.

Ross approached Joey and Chandler next, clasping hands with an elaborate handshake they had created years ago before pulling them in a tight hug.

"Rach! How have you been?" he asked after as he wrapped his arms around her and gently gave her a squeeze.

"Good!" she answered as she sunk into his arms. She was overjoyed that she was finally in his arms again and her heart pounded so hard, she thought he might have felt it through the hug. She had awaited six long months for this feeling and never wanted it to end. Closing her eyes, she enjoyed his smell that she's missed and strong arms that wrapped around her, giving her the presence of safety and protection. As he broke the hug, he gently gave her a kiss on the forehead, sending shivers down her spine as she smiled widely.

"Dude how've you been?" Joey asked, eager to know what he's been up to for the past six months.

"I've been good, I've been good," he answered, nodding his head. "You know, tanning at the beach, working at the museum, oh, and the pay is great too!"

The others nodded and smiled; still in shock that this was the same geeky Ross they knew back in New York. He looked so different, yet he still felt the same.

"Wow, just look at you!" Monica exclaimed, touching his bicep. "Have you been working out?"

Ross smiled innocently which completely melted Rachel's heart as she couldn't help but star at his body.

"I have been working out. Is it really that noticeable?"

"Noticeable? Dude you're ripped!" Joey exclaimed. "You're huge...! You're built...! You're…"

"…hot!" Phoebe finished for him, waiving her hands in the air.

Ross cocked his head to the side and smiled. "Aww, you don't look so bad yourself Pheebs," he responded, making her blush.

The group stood there looking at each other, enjoying each other's presence as all six of them have finally been reunited.

"I can't believe you guys are here," Ross said, breaking the silence and pulling them into a large group hug. "It's so great to see you guys again."

"Ah, well, New York just wasn't the same without our favorite scientist geek," Chandler joked, patting him on the back.

"By the way, you're old roomie says 'hi'," Monica mentioned.

"Oh yeah, Daniel! Yeah, really nice guy and has a real bright future. I should invite him for lunch one day…" Ross said, scratching his chin. "Anyways, we have to catch up! What has it been, like six months?"

"And eleven days to be exact."

"Wow, has it really been that long? Half a year goes by so quickly."

"Not for everyone…" Joey said, elbowing Rachel. She quickly shoved him away, giving Ross her best innocent look as to not raise any suspicions. Ross merely raised his eyebrow at their strange behaviour but shrugged it off, returning his gaze to the others.

"Well, I'm just about done for today," he said, walking over and grabbing his clipboard. "Just let me put this stuff back and we'll…"

"Yo Ross!"

Everyone turned around to see a man, perhaps in his mid-twenties, stroll over. He was tall, around Ross' height standing at about 6 feet with flourishing blonde hair and well built as well. He wore a nice black jacket, giving him a professional, sophisticated look but his smile also gave the impression of someone nice and friendly.

"Scott! I haven't seen you all day! Where've you been man?" Ross asked cheerfully, turning his back on his friends as he and Scott embraced in a bro hug followed by a hand shake.

"Donald had me working in the East Wing today," he answered. "Just got off so I thought I'd swing by before I leave."

Ross looked down at his hand where he noticed a small piece of paper, slipped into his hand during the handshake. He peered at it, noticing a number written in Scott's handwriting.

"What's this?"

"You remember that Courtney girl we met at the bar the other night? Well I saw her earlier today and she practically begged for me to give you her number," Scott explained, chuckling. "I'd call her up man, she's really into you."

Rachel winced at Scott's words, feeling as if her heart was being torn out of her chest. She couldn't help but feel an insane amount of jealousy towards this Courtney girl. Her friends noticed this too and shot her a worrying look but she answered with a smile, hiding the actual pain beneath it.

Ross rolled the slip of paper between his fingers before holding it out for Scott to take it back. "I don't know man…"

"Come on!" he exclaimed. "You're seriously not going to call her? She's a model for God's sake! I mean, did you see that body? I was drooling all over her while you two were flirting it up."

Ross chuckled but placed the piece of paper in Scott's pocket. "Then you call her. I'm just not looking for anyone right now." His words brought a little spark to Rachel's heart but she didn't let her hopes up just yet…

"Man, you're always saying that. I don't get you. You've got the hottest girls in the city chasing after you, yet I've never seen you hook up with any of them. You're not gay right?"

Ross rolled his eyes. "No, of course I'm not gay. I'm just not looking for anything serious right now."

"Dude, I'm telling you, you have to get back into the game! I don't think I've ever seen you with anybody since you've gotten here. When was the last time you got laid?"

Ross chuckled and shook his head, resuming his work and draping a cloth over the fossil he had been on. "I don't need to answer that."

His friend groaned and Ross laughed in response. "You're a freaking sex symbol around here and you're not even using that to your advantage. What I wouldn't do to trade places with…"

All of a sudden Scott stopped, finally noticing the five others who had been watching from the side. He raised an eyebrow, surprised that there were people there with him before he turned around and gave Ross a strange look.

"You're kidding me right?" he asked, gesturing at the group, specifically at Monica, Phoebe, and Rachel.

Ross laughed, putting down the clip board and walking over. "Relax man, these are my actual friends. Everyone, I'd like you to meet Scott Hughes, a friend of mine and a real jokester."

The group chorused with 'hi's and 'hello's while Scott himself smiled and gave them a friendly 'hey'. Ross followed by introducing them one by one as Scott nodded and did his separate greetings.

"Friends of yours huh?" he said afterwards, eyeing the three girls standing in the front. Ross, in turn, gave him a shove, lowering his eyebrows knowingly.

"Hey, watch it. One of them is my little sister."

"Sister?" Scott asked, surprised. "You mean the over-obsessive one you've told me about?"

Monica frowned as Chandler and Joey broke out into laughter.

"Yup, that's the one," Chandler joked, earning a death glare from Monica, which shut him up immediately.

Scott chuckled lightly. He was beginning to take a liking to the two other guys. "So, what brings you to San Diego?"

"We're visiting Ross from New York. It's been a while since we last saw him so we thought it would be a nice little surprise," Monica admitted.

"And it sure was," Ross said, giving his sister a little squeeze.

Suddenly Phoebe popped up and raised her hand. "Oh, oh, oh! And Rachel came down here to tell Ross something!"

"Really?" he asked with a raised eyebrow, intrigued at what Phoebe was talking about.

It had all happened so fast. One second they were doing introductions, the next, she was revealing the truth. She made a mental note to kill Phoebe afterwards as she was nowhere near ready to confess the truth to Ross. Not after what she's heard about the other women that were apparently all over him 24/7.

Flustered, she stumbled with words as she felt his eyes watching her.

"Fashion!" she blurted out in a moment of panic.

Ross raised an eyebrow. "Fashion?"

"Uh, yeah, uh fashion! My work wants me to find, uh, to find fashion from other places to compare to fashion in New York," she lied nervously.

"And you chose San Diego?"

She looked down sheepishly and scratched her head, realizing just how stupid that sounded. "I guess that is kind of stupid, huh? Oh well, it's too late to change that now…"

"Um, ok…?" Ross said with a very confused look. "Well, I'd be happy to help you out but you know fashion isn't my strong suit."

He gave her a smile that immediately eased her nerves. She smiled back, turning her head and meeting four other strange looks from her friends. They were obviously wondering why she hadn't confessed the truth and she also shot them a nervous smile.

"Shoot, look at the time," Ross pointed out, looking down at his watch. "Scott, do you mind keeping these guys at bay while I put this stuff back?"

Scott merely waved him off. "Oh yeah, go for it. Neither of us wants Douglas going off again like last time…"

Ross laughed and patted his shoulder in thanks before he walked away. Rachel couldn't help but watch as he picked up a crate, his large biceps enlarging with the simple action, and walked away into a storage vault. She felt her face get hotter as she blushed and quickly looked away before anyone could see it. She had to admit, Ross' new body was extremely attractive.

"So, how long have you known my brother?" Monica asked, striking up a conversation.

Scott scratched his chin, searching his mind for an answer. "About six months I suppose. I'm pretty sure I met him on his first day in the city. He's a really nice guy; he even landed me this job here at the museum. If I wasn't working, I don't know what kind of trouble I'd be getting myself into…"

His last comment raised an eyebrow but she didn't dwell on it too much as he continued talking.

"Anyways, you guys are from New York, huh? I had no idea Ross used to live there."

"Really?" Chandler questioned. "You mean he's never mentioned any of us before?"

Scott shook his head. "No, he doesn't really talk about his past much. Hell, I've known the guy for so long and all I know about his life before San Diego was that Monica was his little sister."

The group shot each other strange looks. First Daniel said he's never heard of them, and now Scott? How could Ross have never mentioned them before? He had known them for years, they were practically a family, yet he didn't even bother letting someone like Scott know that he lived in New York? Something was going on and the group knew there was a reason behind Ross keeping them a secret.

"Huh…" Scott scratched the back of his head, recognizing an awkward moment. "Well, I got to go. I have a sister myself and we're going out with some friends. It was nice meeting you all."

"Bye," the group chorused as the man waved and walked away. Before he left, however, he stopped and turned towards the storage unit Ross had entered.

"Hey Ross!"

"Yeah!" Ross' voice came and his head popped out a second later.

"I'm going to bounce alright? The gang expects me at around seven-thirty so I better leave now, and without you there, you know they'll be cranky if I'm late. Besides…" Scott pulled out the slip of paper from his pocket and rubbed it between his fingers. "…I've got some calling to do."

Ross laughed. "Alright, I'll catch up with you later."

"Yeah, oh, and don't forget about the party Sunday. You could bring these guys along too," he said, pointing at the group.

"Cool, we'll see if we can make it out."

Scott joking gave him a salute and left, whistling as he disappeared back into the museum. A moment later, Ross walked out of the storage unit, bringing the door down with a slam and dusting his hands off. As he walked over, he grabbed a nice brown leather jacket that had been sitting on a crate and put it on, making Rachel's heart pump as it made him look even handsomer than normal. When he stopped and smiled at them, she just wanted to run up and embrace him and never let go. He was that hot.

"Alright, I'm all done here. I forgot, how long are you guys visiting for?"

"About three weeks," Chandler answered. "We managed to clear our time table so we pretty much have a month to do whatever we want."

Ross raised his eyebrow knowingly. "Let me guess, Uncle Fred died again?"

"What? How'd he know?" Joey asked, bewildered that Ross knew their excuse for getting off work for that long.

The group laughed, excited and yet comfortable to have Ross join their ranks once again. All of a sudden, Monica checked her watch and gasped. It was part seven already.

"Crap, guys we missed our check in at the hotel. They must've given our rooms away by now." They all groaned.

"What?" Ross asked. "No, as long as you guys are in San Diego, you're staying with me."

"Ross, I'm sure your little bachelor pad couldn't hold the six of us," Monica said, giving her brother a look.

Instead of taking the bait, Ross smiled and winked, swinging a pair of keys around his finger as he led the others to the parking lot.

"Wait 'til you see my _little bachelor pad_."

…

By no means was Ross' place a simple _bachelor pad_.

As the group exited his black Mercedes Benz Crossover, which already came as a surprise, they couldn't help but stop and stare in bewilderment and shock. What they _thought_ would a simple bachelor pad was instead a luxurious two-story modern house that overlooked the ocean near the outskirts of the city. Ross smirked as his friends stood in awe, not believing that Ross not only had enough money to pay for it, but actually _lived_ in a place like this. They had seen their share of modern houses in magazines and what not, but to live in one was absurd.

"You guys just going to stand outside or are you going to come in?" Ross asked with a smile as he swung the front door open.

As soon as they walked in, none of them could say a word as all five of their mouths dropped.

Inside was just as amazing as the outside view. Immediately after stepping inside, the group was introduced to a beautiful kitchen which Monica couldn't help but squeal in delight. Next to the kitchen was a white dining room, fit to hold up to six people, and it split off into two more corridors; one that led to the garage and another which led to a room and a bathroom.

Just beyond the kitchen was a large living room, equipped with two huge couches, a large coffee table, a 60-inch TV, and a fire place to give it that warm and cozy feeling. The living room also was connected to two glass doors which opened to a large balcony with a breathtaking view on the ocean. The living room was also next to a flight of stairs up to the second floor. There wasn't much up there but a few rooms and a bathroom, yet compared to their living conditions in New York, it was like a five-star hotel.

"Oh my God!" Phoebe and Joey exclaimed at the same time.

"Holy crap! Did you rob a bank or something?!" Chandler commented, wandering into the living room.

Phoebe was seen jumping up and down in excitement while Joey hoped onto one of the coaches, sinking right in. Chandler followed suit, sitting down on a chair like the one back home, but for some reason, this one seemed ten times as comfortable. Seeing that they were given freedom to explore, Monica immediately dashed off to the kitchen, astounded by its size and imagining all the things she could make in here. The only person who wasn't as shocked, but still very much surprised, was Rachel, as she had grown up within a rich household and lived in a mansion during her childhood. Even so, however, it astounded her that this place belonged to Ross of all people, and though she never sought out rich love interests, she was impressed.

"Ok seriously, where did you get the money for this place?" Chandler asked bewildered.

Ross put his hands in his pocket and shrugged. "Like I said, the museum pays well. I ended up buying this place mostly for the location. It's on the outskirts of the city where it's quiet and has an amazing view of the ocean."

"I can't believe you've been living here for six months! Our places look like dumps compared to this one." Joey exclaimed.

"Three months actually."

"Three months! Even better!" he exclaimed again, resulting in Chandler face-palming at his roommate's non-sense.

"Alright, alright, alright," Ross said, putting his hands up and getting everyone's attention. "Before you guys start destroying my house…" He looked at Monica who had opened up all the cupboards and already had an apron wrapped around her waist. "…let's figure out some living arrangements first. I've got three bedrooms, one on this floor and two upstairs. I'm occupying the one here so you guys are going to have to…"

"Me and Chandler call a room!" Joey interrupted, jumping up and down as if he was a little kid being assigned a bunker at summer camp.

"Oh come on!" Chandler complained but looked around the room at the other options. Ross wasn't going to share a bed with him since it was his place, and he knew for a fact that it would take a miracle to have any of the girls sleep in the same bed with him. He hung his head down, accepting the fact that no matter where he went, he'd always end up bunking with Joey.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh! I call Monica!" Phoebe yelled, pointing at her.

Rachel perked up. "What? Why do you get to call Monica?"

"Because you already live together so I think it's my turn to spend some time with her," Phoebe answered smugly. Monica just shrugged, happy to know that she was wanted while Rachel looked a little flustered.

"Wh-what? Then where am I going to sleep?"

All of a sudden the room went into an awkward silence as Ross and Rachel became the main focus of attention. He nervously cleared his throat while she looked away blushing as it was pretty obvious that the only place she could sleep was with Ross.

Surprisingly, Ross chuckled nervously, breaking the awkwardness but leaving them all with a confused look. "Don't worry; both the couches are pull-out so you can stay in the living room."

"Oh, ok," she said, relieved that the awkwardness has ended but at the same time, a little disappointed. After all, they had slept with each other for an entire year before their break up so it wasn't as if it would be unfamiliar territory.

After a few moments, the group sorted out the rest of the living arrangements and Ross volunteered to fetch everyone's luggage from the car. As he disappeared through the front door, Rachel sat down on the couch with a sigh only to look up in surprise as everyone's eyes were on hers.

"What?" she asked quizzically.

"Why didn't you tell Ross about your feelings?" Monica asked.

"Oh…" Rachel shifted on the couch uncomfortably. "Uh, well, there was never a good time…"

"Oh please, we all saw the look on your face when you thought you'd be sleeping in the same room with him." Chandler pointed out. "You could have said something then, or even back at the museum when Phoebe gave you a perfect entrance."

"Oh yeah, thank you by the way," she said to Phoebe sarcastically, looking to move away from the topic at hand.

"Rachel," Monica began with a stern tone. "Why didn't you say something to Ross?"

She looked at the ground. "Because… because I got nervous ok? I mean, I wasn't the only one who heard about all those other girls that have been showing up at his work, or, or that girl's number Scott tried to give him. What if he is looking to move on? What if he doesn't love me anymore?"

"Oh please, this is _Ross_ we're talking about," Chandler said, taking a seat on the couch. "The man's been in love with you ever since I met him in college."

"Yeah, and besides that note you left you made it pretty clear that he was still in love with you," Joey added.

"I guess…" she sighed, twiddling her thumbs. "But a lot can happen in six months, you know? Like just look at him! He's changed so much and so much more attractive than I remember him to be. I'm sure any girl would love to have him so what makes him want to come back to a mess like me?"

"Don't say that Rach. You know that he'd take you over any girl on the planet," Joey countered.

"Well it doesn't look like that to me," Rachel confessed sadly. "To me, it looks like he's happy here away from us, away from _me_. Maybe it's just fate that's telling me to move on too."

"But do you want to move on?" Monica asked, rubbing her friend's shoulders.

"No! Why would I come all the way down here if I wanted to move on? I just, I just wish things were simpler between us. I wish I had never suggested that stupid break and that he never moved from New York. I wish… I wish we were back together…"

The friends looked at Rachel in silence, wondering if they should say something more or just give her some space to think. Outside, the sound of a car door shutting was heard and the group quickly turned to Rachel who sported a sad look on her face.

"Rachel, if your heart is telling you that this is right, then you should go for it," Phoebe said, making her smile.

"Thanks Pheebs," Rachel said, holding onto her friend's hand.

"Oh, and if you are going to go for it, you better do it quick. Otherwise I might just make a move on that hottie myself."

Phoebe's comment brought an even bigger smile onto her face as she mouthed a 'thank you' back. She took comfort knowing that her friends would be behind her all the way. Just as she was about to say something else, she heard the front door shut. Ross passed by the kitchen, pulling along three suitcases and struggling to hold onto one of Rachel's bags in his otherwise occupied arms.

"That's everything," he announced, placing it against the wall along with the other luggage. He stood up with a smile and clapped his hands together. "So, who's hungry for pasta?"

"Oh, I am!" Joey yelled, raising his hand.

"What? Since when did you learn how to cook?" Monica asked, clearly wanting to do it herself.

"Mon, I've always known how to cook. You just kept hogging the stove back at home." He saw the look she was giving him and quickly held up a hand to put an end to it. "And no, you may not cook today. You'll have plenty of time to do that over the next few weeks but the host is cooking tonight. God, I'm going to have to buy a lot of food…"

The others laughed as Monica pouted at her brother's last comment. The six of them walked into the kitchen where they talked and laughed, all while watching Ross cook up some of the best tasting pasta they've ever had.

At the dinner table, Rachel glanced at the five other people around; her friends, her family, and as her eyes landed on Ross, her lover?

She sighed, sticking her fork in her food and taking a sip from her wine glass.

 _Not tonight_ …

…

 **Author's Note: Don't really do this often but I'd like to respond to a recent review that I found quite interesting. (** Thanks to Chubbyme for the review. **) In all my stories, I always try to balance out the 'hurt' or 'pain' between Ross and Rachel, though it's not always possible depending on the plot line (** _See Forgetful Love_ **). It also may seem unbalanced sometimes (** _See MTJF_ **), but that is due to the fact that I chose to write in Rachel's perspective because it was easier and I had more aspects to pull from to write the story. That doesn't mean Ross had less 'pain', it was just easier to write through Rachel which is why it seemed like there was an unbalance of 'hurt'.**

 **As for this story, I'll be probably flipping from perspective to perspective though you'll notice that at a certain point, Ross will be the main point of view for the story. Hopefully that will give off that they are both suffering equally rather than one more than the other.**

 **Aside from that, thanks to everyone who's supported up to here. Be sure to leave a review if you'd like, and if you have any questions feel free to PM me (** easier this way **) or leave a comment bellow. Take care.**


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

The next morning, Rachel woke up to the smell of something nice in the air. She groaned, stretching out across the pull-out couch before groggily sitting up. She gingerly placed her bare feet on the nice carpet floor, enjoying the nice soft material against her skin while rubbing the sleep out from her eyes.

"Morning."

She turned around to see Ross looking at her from the kitchen. He was wearing a tight gray t-shirt that brought out his strong muscles and pecks, as well as a very nice pair of khakis which finished off his look. She couldn't help but stare at his muscular body, lost in that moment as her eyes trailed from his large biceps to his chest and finally landing on his handsome face. He gave her a soft smile that immediately started her day off on a good note.

"Morning," she hummed, smiling in return.

"I see you're finally up. Did you have a nice sleep?"

"Yeah, the couch is surprisingly comfortable," she admitted, bouncing on its springs. Ross laughed, bringing an even bigger smile to her face. She had missed that laugh.

"I know what you mean. I used to sleep on it rather than on my own bed."

"Hmmm," she hummed, getting up and walking over to the kitchen. She leaned up against the kitchen counter as she watched him attend to the stove. "So, whatcha making?" she asked in a playful tone.

"Bacon and eggs," he answered, taking the pan with the sizzling bacon and placing them evenly across the five plates he had laid out across the counter. He made eye contact with her again and smiled before turning back towards the stove.

Rachel closed her eyes, smiling to herself and enjoyed the smell of fresh bacon in the morning. Her mind trailed off to when they had been dating, remembering the times he had made her breakfast in bed and had served her bacon and eggs. She had always loved when he made her breakfast in bed because he used to make them extra special, just for her. There was this one time, near Valentine's Day, when he had made all the eggs into little heart shapes and spelled her name out with bacon. It had been such a sweet gesture that had brought her to tears, and she profoundly remembered of how she had 'paid him back' a few minutes later.

She sighed, looking at him with a hopeful look. Maybe, just maybe, that memory could become real again. She only hoped that he was willing for it to happen too.

Ross noticed her staring as he piled up the rest of the eggs on the plates. He raised an eyebrow, recognizing that her mind was somewhere else.

"What, is there something on my face?" he asked jokingly.

Rachel quickly shook her head, snapping back to reality. She blushed and looked the other way, knowing that he had caught her staring.

"No I was, uh… thinking," she answered nervously.

"About what?" he questioned, leaning on the other side of the counter.

She looked back and immediately was lost in his large brown eyes. Her heart beat increased and she couldn't help but stare back until she realized he had asked a question and she had not yet given an answer.

"Oh, uh, it was nothing. Something about work… you know, with the fashion thing and all," she managed to blurt out.

"Right, right." He brought the pans to the sink and began washing them. "You know, I was thinking too…"

"Really?" she perked up. Was it possible that he was thinking of the same memory?

"Yeah, I was thinking that since I have the weekend off, we should all go and hit the beach for a little while. We could also go do a little shopping for tomorrow since I doubt any of you brought clothes for the party."

"Oh." She couldn't help but feel a little disappointed that they weren't on the same page. "Uh, yeah, that sounds great. You should probably run it by the others when they come down but I'm sure it should be fine."

He paused and looked at her curiously.

"Are you ok?" he asked, knowing when something was bothering her. He had always been able to do that, focusing on the little things about her and knowing exactly when she had something wrong. He knew her so well, yet, did he know what she was thinking?

"Yeah, I'm fine. I'm, uh, I'm going to go and take a shower," she said quickly before rushing towards the bathroom.

Ross watched as she left in a hurry, obviously because she didn't want to talk to him. He sighed, knowing things would never really be the same between them. Even when he put on an act like just now and pretended like they were just friends like before, there was still that awkwardness between them.

He ran his hand through his hair before returning to cleaning the pans.

He knew that she had been thinking about the same thing.

…

Only a few hours later and the gang found themselves stepping out of the black Mercedes and onto the softness of the hot, sun-tanned sand. The girls squealed from the long forgotten feeling of sand between their toes while Chandler and Joey stood frozen, mouths agape at the number of women in bikinis. For the five of them, it had been years since they had last set foot on a sandy beach and just feeling the hot rays from the sun and the cool ocean breeze against their skin made them take a minute to just enjoy the moment.

"We sure aren't in New York anymore!" Chandler exclaimed.

"No we aren't!" the others chorused happily.

The sound of a car door closing was heard and a moment later Ross appeared from behind them, holding onto two large umbrellas and a few towels. "What are we all looking at?"

"Oh be quiet," Monica answered, giving him a light shove. "You live here! It's not like we get hot sandy beaches or cool ocean waves back in New York!"

"Don't forget the hot babes…" Joey added, peeking out from his shades and lookingat two girls walking by up and down. " _How you 'doin?_ "

The girls giggled and one of them whispered something into the other's ear. They giggled again before continuing on their way but not before giving Joey a little wink and a kissy face.

"Nice," he said, happy at his work. "Man, I love the beach!"

The gang laughed before making their way along the sandy beach until they found a nice open area to set up camp. They laid down their beach towels as Ross stuck the two large umbrellas in the ground. A moment later, the six of them laid down on their respective towels, enjoying the sun light and just the atmosphere of the beach.

"I could do this all day…" Rachel commented, her voice already drowsy from the heat.

"Ooh, ooh, ooh!" Phoebe started in an ecstatic tone. "Can you teach me how to tan?"

"What? Pheebs, how do you now know how to tan? You've tanned before right?"

"Oh no, Phoebe doesn't get tans. At least not in New York," Monica answered, sitting up on her elbows. "She says that it's unnatural and unhealthy for the skin."

"It is!" she countered, recognizing the mocking tone in Monica's voice. "Do you know what kind of chemicals they put into those bottles?" she shuddered while Rachel and Monica rolled their eyes. "Anyways, here I can get a proper tan but I don't know how."

Rachel smiled a placed a hand on her friend's shoulder. "Aww, of course we'll teach you Pheebs. It's not hard. All you have to do is lie down and let the sun do its work…"

She slowly started to drift off, enjoying the feeling of the blazing sun against her soft skin. She smiled wider, blocking out everything else in the world until something hit her stomach that made her jump.

"OW!" she yelled, whipping her sunglasses off.

Joey laughed and picked up the volleyball he had thrown. "Come on! We just got here! You can relax later. For now, who's up for volleyball?"

"Oh, I am!" Phoebe yelled, jumping up and clapping in excitement.

Monica stood up as well, eager to let her competitiveness take over. "Oh yeah, I'm so down! Get ready to get your ass kicked Tribbiani! Rach, you coming?"

Rachel sighed. "Oh alright, if everyone else is playing…" she stood up reluctantly, looking over at the only person lying down. She hesitated for a moment, remembering the awkwardness they had that morning but looked to move past that phase as she shuffled a few feet closer. "Ross?"

The mention of his name seemed to snap him out of his silent trance. "Hmm?" he mumbled, looking at the four people above him. "Oh, oh yeah sure."

When he stood up, his elbow gently grazed the fabric of her bikini, sending both shivers down her spine but also a feeling of warmth from his touch. She was glad he didn't notice her reaction to his touch otherwise he would have caught her blushing. Instead, he turned his back to her, giving her a nice view of his toned shoulder and back muscles. She looked him up and down, starting from his black trunks, up his powerful frame accented by his tight muscle shirt, and finally landing back onto his powerful shoulders.

She gulped, realising just how attracted she was to his body. She wondered if he has always had that can of muscular shape. She knew that back when they had dated, he was one of those guys who looked weak on the outside but strong on the inside, but now he _definitely_ looked strong on the outside. It was obvious he had been working out lately, further proven by his arm definition, and she was having a hard time lately looking at him without accidently staring.

She snapped out of her thoughts when she heard her name being called. She looked over and saw the rest of them already setting up the volleyball net a few feet away. She heard Monica yell her name again and telling her that she was on her team which made her laugh at her friend's competitiveness. She quickly ran over to join the others, putting aside any thoughts for now.

…

It was late in the afternoon and the group had finally decided to rest and just relax on the warm sandy beach. The girls were tanning in the sun and Chandler and Joey were sitting nearby, building a sandcastle between them as they talked and pointed out girls around the beach.

Finally, lying a few feet away under the cool shade of one of the umbrellas was Ross, shades on and with his arms propped up behind his head. He remained unstill as it appeared he was simply enjoying the nice summer weather of the San Diego beach, but if you looked closer, you might be able to tell that he was actually deep in thought, closing out the rest of the world around him.

What he was thinking about? No one really knows.

Not even Rachel, who couldn't help but peer back from time to time, studying him and analyzing the pattern of his chest as it moved up and down with every breath. She knew he was deep in thought and she was curious to know what it was.

Well, in truth, she was curious to know a lot about him over the past six months. She wanted to know his daily routine and what he does in his spare time. She wanted to know who his new friends are, and the girls who he's been talking to or who've been talking to him. She wanted to know what had caused such a change in his personality and what has turned his open-armed, accepting nature into this mysterious and hidden away character.

And, of course, most of all she wanted to know if his feelings for her have changed, though that was probably best left for when she finally put her own feelings for him straight.

"Joey! The moats supposed to be bigger!"

The sound of Chandler's voice made her turn her head to see him and Joey busy working on their sandcastle. She couldn't help but let out a soft laugh, seeing how her two friends were literal man-childs, bickering and fighting over the plastic shovel as a ten-year-old would.

"What? I think its fine," Joey countered, continuing his digging around their sandcastle. "It surrounds the inner walls, and protects the heart of the castle."

"Yeah, but it also cuts out the castle's towers!" Chandler shot back, pointing at the four sandtowers that were not separated from the rest of the castle due to Joey's moat."

"Exactly! It's supposed to be like that!"

"What? What's the point in trapping a princess in a tower if the tower isn't even connected to the castle?" Chandler questioned.

"So the prince can save the princess, get laid, and make a story out of it!" he exclaimed, making Chandler groan.

"Give me that," he demanded, snatching the plastic shovel out of Joey's hands. He began filling in the moat Joey had dug and started digging his own that surrounded the _entire_ castle.

As he was doing this, he felt Joey tap his shoulder. "What?"

"Dude…"

"Can't you see I'm trying to fix the moat?" Chandler asked, not looking up as he continued with his work. He felt another tap on his shoulder and groaned. "What?"

"Chandler… _look_ …"

Groaning again, he finally looked up and immediately dropped his shovel as he saw what Joey was staring at. His jaw dropped open, matching Joey's, as they started at two incredibly beautiful and sexy women, a blonde and a brunette, hips swaying from side to side as they walked along the ocean side and appearing to head right for them.

Quickly the two of them stood up, dusting the sand off their trunks as they started stomping on their sandcastle, trying to hide what they had been working on just as the two women neared. Joey and Chandler immediately changed their pose, crossing their arms as they gave their best 'laid back' look as Monica, Phoebe, and Rachel looked on with amused faces.

" _How you doin'?_ " Joey hummed in his sexiest voice, looking the two women up and down. 

"We definitely weren't building a sandcastle!" Chandler burst out in his nervousness, earning an elbow to the rib from Joey. "I mean, we were lifting weights! You just can't see them because we… uh, buried them in… the ground…"

"Yeah!" Joey added as he and Chandler still tried to pull of their 'cool looks', making Monica, Phoebe, and Rachel laugh.

The two women in front of them didn't seem to have a clear reaction as they looked at Joey and Chandler, appearing as if they were sizing them up. That's when the brunette leaned over and whispered something into the blonde's ear, causing her two smile. To everyone's surprise, the two women began walking away, even side-stepping Joey who was completely blind-sided.

And to everyone's second and bigger surprise, the two women stopped just in front of where Ross was lying, making Rachel's breath get caught in her throat as she felt an immense amount of jealousy build up inside her already.

It took Ross a few moments for him to realise he was being watched, and slowly lifting his shades he was slightly surprised to find two very attractive women standing in front of him.

"Um, hi, can I help you ladies with something?" he asked, sitting up slightly.

"You're that guy who works at that museum right?" the blonde asked, a hint of excitement in her voice.

"Yeah, I'm one of the people that work there."

"See, I told you it was him!" the brunette exclaimed to her friend, turning back to him. "You're Ross Geller!"

"I am," Ross answered humbly with a smile. "And who am I talking to?"

"Oh, right! I'm Avery!" the blonde answered.

"And I'm Lana," the brunette smiled, fluttering her eyelids, something Rachel noticed from afar and immediately made her label the two women as sluts.

"Well it's very nice to meet you two beautiful women," Ross responded, kissing both their hands.

"What a gentleman," Avery cooed, crossing her legs in front of him.

"I try my best," he joked lightly, resulting in both women emphasizing their giggles.

It was so blatantly obvious that they were flirting with him and Rachel just wanted to go over there and slap both of them for hitting on her man… except he wasn't her man. Not anymore.

"So, we were thinking…" Lana started, rubbing her foot against his leg. "…how would you like to join us for a couple drinks down at the bar?" she asked, motioning towards the beach bar down the beach.

"I think we'll have a lot of fun," Avery added, biting her bottom lip as she played with her bikini straps.

Rachel immediately felt her face flush an angry red as she was so close to going over there and telling them to back off, but to everyone's surprise, Ross remained where he was.

"I'm flattered ladies, I really am, but I just want to relax today. No drinks for me today," Ross said with a soft smile.

The smiles on both women's faces disappeared, replaced with a soft pout.

"Aww, come on, what about just one drink?" the blonde asked with a sweet voice.

"You know what ladies, how about I one-up your offer. How about instead of taking me, you take those two fine gents over there who happen to be my good friends," Ross suggested, motioning to Joey and Chandler who were once again caught off guard.

"Wh-what?" Joey asked, rarely ever flustered but this time clearly out of his comfort zone.

"U-us? Us gents?" Chandler repeated, pointing at him and Joey.

The two women looked at the two men, then turned to each other, shrugging.

"Eh, why not?"

Smiling, Avery and Lana sauntered over to Joey and Chandler, each taking an arm as they led the two men towards the beach bar. Both of them had huge grins on their faces as they stared at their 'dates', giddier than ever.

"Have fun!" Ross waved, putting his shades back on.

Meanwhile Monica, Phoebe, and specifically Rachel couldn't believe what they just saw. Not only was Ross hit on by two attractive women, something that rarely happened, but he rejected them? _And_ suggested they take Joey and Chandler instead? They were both confused, shocked, and lost, all at the same time.

"Ross, why didn't you take up their first offer?" Monica questioned, looking at her brother.

"Yeah, they were hot! Even I have to admit that!" Phoebe added, just as confused.

Ross just shrugged. "They're not my type," he answered simply before laying back down.

Rachel couldn't help but smile at his answer, feeling a huge wave of relief release from her body.

Maybe there was still hope yet.

…


	6. Chapter 6

**Chapter 6**

The alarm blared through his room as Ross groaned and rolled over, slamming his hand down on the clock to shut it off. He rolled back over onto his back, staring up at the ceiling for a few minutes as his brain took it's time to wake up.

He turned his head, reading his clock as '9:00 a.m.' and couldn't help but groan. Sundays were normally his sleep-in days, but of course now that he had company he had forced himself to set an alarm last night. In fact, he could already here his friends outside in the kitchen talking and watching the morning news.

He had to admit, he was surprised they had settled down so fast and felt comfortable enough to be themselves around him again. It seemed as though the 6 months apart didn't really bother them, or at least not enough to change them, completely unlike him. He was still taking his time adjusting to having the people he's distanced himself away from for the past half year suddenly coming back into his life again.

And that's all not to mention that he's around _her_ again too, but at the moment he just didn't have the energy to think about all that.

After a few more minutes of aimlessly staring at his ceiling, Ross eventually forced himself up and stumbled towards his bathroom. Once inside, he immediately stripped down, hopping into the shower and turning it on. Soon steam filled the bathroom air as he let the warm shower water hit his face and run down his body, waking him from his half-slumber and relaxing his body for the day to come.

After drying himself off, Ross returned to his room and grabbed some random clothes to throw on. He also remembered that tonight was the party so he put aside a nicer set of clothes; a nice collared shirt as well as a pair of Designer jeans for tonight.

Returning back to the bathroom, the first thing he did was look at himself in the mirror, immediately spotting the dark rings around his eyes. He frowned, running a hand through his hair as he inspected his eyes closer, seeing a pair of dark, wounded eyes that he no longer recognised as his own.

It's been this way for some time now and everyday he looks in the mirror to find a different pair of eyes staring back at him. It's been even worse lately as he hasn't been able to sleep well for the past few days. It was like back when he first moved to the city and had trouble sleeping, although there were different reasons between then and now.

With a deep sigh, Ross quickly brushed his teeth and shaved before doing his hair, applying a little bit of gel to shape it and using a hair brush to clean up the rest. It's taken some time for him to adopt to his longer hair but he's gotten to like it more than his previous one. Much less time consuming than his previous hair and he's been told it makes him look more rugged, which is good. The tougher he looked on the outside, the less people question what's happening on the inside.

Finally after finishing all his morning dues, Ross stared at himself in the mirror again. With a sigh, slowly he opened the cabinet next to his mirror and there, sitting on the middle shelf was a single white cylindrical container.

This was the evil of his mornings, the epitome of what he's become, yet no matter how much he hated it he knew he was dependant on it. It's what got him through the day, whether he liked it or not.

Without hesitation he popped open the cap and grabbed one of the small substances inside; a small white pill which he rolled around between his fingers before plopping it in his mouth and swallowing it down. He grabbed a second one and did the same.

After swallowing both pills, Ross stared at the pill bottle on the counter and at himself in the mirror.

 _Screw it_.

He grabbed a third pill and swallowed it too before closing the container and putting it back in his cabinet. He knew it was an overdose and the risks involved, but he really didn't care. Especially now that _she_ was around, he knew he would need the extra boost to get him through the day.

With one final glance in the mirror, he left his bathroom, closing the lights and leaving his necessary evil hidden away from all wandering eyes.

Or at least he hoped that was the case.

…

Later that night Ross found himself stepping out of his car with his friends around him, all with eager looks on their faces. The girls were wearing nice dresses and the guys were wearing casual shirts, all of which they had bought the day prior, and as Ross turned around to look at his friends, he couldn't help but notice the looks of anticipation in their eyes. He understood though, since they rarely went to large parties such as this one back in New York, and the only reason he didn't have the same look they did was because he had gotten used to the party-style life of San Diego.

"So, where is this party?" Joey asked, looking around the street to see if he could spot it.

"Yeah Ross, this place looks dead," Chandler remarked.

"Relax guys, it's just around the block," he answered, chuckling slightly as he locked his car door and began walking. "Follow me."

Sure enough, about a block away the group could already here the muffled sounds of the club's music blaring through the streets. After another block, the club finally came into view and the reason they knew it was it was because of the large line that extended all the way down the block.

"Holy crap, look at that line," Phoebe commented, standing on her tip-toes to try to see the end of it.

"Ross, you sure we'll be able to get in?" Monica asked, worried that she'd have to stand outside.

"Yes, I'm sure Mon," he chuckled, leading them towards the entrance and ahead of everyone in line to get into the club.

As they neared the entrance, the group immediately spotted a very large, black skin-toned man who was presumed to be the bouncer. He hadn't noticed them yet, but with the way he was looking at the people in line trying to get in, the five friends immediately became incredibly intimidated.

"Uh, Ross, don't you think we should wait at the back of the line?" Chandler whispered, carefully eyeing the bouncer.

Ross couldn't help but chuckle again. "Relax Chandler. Yo Wendell!"

At the call of his name, the bouncer turned towards the approaching group and to everyone's surprise his fierce, intimidated look was replaced by a large smile.

"Ross, my man! Haven't seen you in a while bro!" Wendell chuckled as Ross greeted him with a handshake.

"Yeah, been a little busy lately but everyone told me if I didn't show up tonight they'd come to my house," Ross replied as the large man bellowed a laugh.

"Hey, you gotta party one in a while…" That's when Wendell noticed the five people crowded behind Ross, each of them remaining quiet. "And who are these people?"

"They're friends of mine visiting from New York," he explained. "They're with me tonight. It alright if we go in?"

"Yeah, no problem man," Wendell replied, unhooking one of the red ropes. "Any friend of Ross' is a friend of mine."

"Thanks Wendell, you're the bomb," Ross smiled, removing his hand from his pocket and giving the large man another handshake. When they ended the handshake however, Wendell flashed a toothy grin as he held up the bill Ross had slipped him through the handshake.

"Come on in guys, have some fun," the large man smiled, gesturing in as he placed the bill safely in his pant pocket.

The group murmured their thanks and goodbyes before following Ross into the club.

Stepping in, the group immediately stopped and stared in awe at the size of this nightclub. There was a bar to their right and a large dance floor in the middle with a DJ busy mixing his music, lights flashing all over the place. There were couches, tables, and chairs for people to relax at and off to the side, a large staircase led to the second floor of the nightclub.

If the place didn't scream party then the atmosphere and the noise level certainly did, and the group couldn't help but feel a little overwhelmed as the girls flattened out their skirts and the guys pulled at their sleeves.

" **EY! CHECK IT OUT, ROSS IS IN THE HOUSE!** " the DJ yelled into his microphone as a large cheer erupted through the club. Ross just smiled and waved before turning to his friends behind him. 

"So yeah, this is what San Diego parties are like. They're pretty crazy sometimes."

"Yeah, we can tell," Monica responded, almost yelling just to hear him over the music.

Ross laughed. "Don't worry we'll go somewhere quieter in a second. I just want to establish some ground-rules for tonight."

His friends looked at each other strangely before Ross continued.

"Number one: if you're going to drink go ahead, but try not to get wasted. There's no way I can carry the five of you back to my car afterwards."

"Relax Ross, we're not in high school. We're grown adults," Chandler commented and Ross rolled his eyes.

"Alright, number two: don't leave the club with anyone. If you're going to hook up with someone, whatever, but don't leave with them. I'm looking at you Joe," he said as Joey just smiled and nodded. "They've got rooms in the back if you need and the bathroom is always an option..."

"Oh yeah! I'm getting laid tonight!" Joey exclaimed as the group rolled their eyes.

"Anything else?" Monica asked.

Ross shrugged. "Nope, just don't do anything stupid and we'll be good." The group nodded in agreement and he smiled. "Great, now come on. I'll introduce you to my group of friends."

As they walked through the busy nightclub, Rachel couldn't help but feel a little nervous as they were about to meet his new friends. The question of whether he had a girlfriend or not was still up in the air, but she was also concerned with the people he's gotten to know since he moved here. Already just by walking through the club was he being greeted left and right. She, along with the rest of the group, still didn't understand how everyone seemed to know him somehow but what she did know was that typically girls like those well-known guys, and from what she's seen, he was the prime example of the type of guy those girls are into.

A few moments later, the group found themselves wandering towards one of the corners of the place where a group of people were sitting around on a couple couches and chairs, talking and sharing drinks. One of those people was a man leaning on one of the high tables while drinking from a beer bottle and the group immediately recognised him as Scott, Ross' friend who they had met at the museum.

By coincidence, at that moment Scott turned to his left and immediately spotted Ross with the rest of the group following close behind. With a large smile he took a swig of his beer and motioned to them.

"Look who finally showed up."

"Ross!"

The five friends immediately turned to where the voice came from and saw a small blonde woman jump off the couch and rush towards Ross. When she got closer she practically jumped into his arms, the two laughing as they embraced in a large hug and Rachel felt a sharp pain in her heart as Ross kissed the woman on the forehead.

"Where've you been? I haven't seen you all week!" the woman exclaimed in a sweet, little voice, playfully slapping him on the arm.

"I know, I'm sorry. I've been busy at the museum lately cleaning up whatever this guy messes up," Ross joked, motioning to Scott who sneered back at him.

Meanwhile Rachel stood there watching this playful interaction with a heartbroken look on her face. Without even knowing this girl yet, she immediately felt threatened by her. Not only was the way she embraced him already enough to tell her that she should be intimidated by her, but the woman was incredibly beautiful. With her luscious blonde hair, incredible smile, and perfect body, further accented by her tight black dress, she was beautiful and sexy in a cute-innocent way. Most women try to pull off that shy-innocent act, her included, but this girl seemed to have embodied it.

But what intimidated her the most was the girl's eyes. They were the most gorgeous pair of blue eyes she had ever seen, large and filled with colour. They were like two pristine crystals, sparkling in the dim nightclub lighting. If the two girls at the beach weren't Ross' type, Rachel knew for a fact that this type of girl was, and that's what worried her the most.

"Ahem," Monica cleared her voice, noticing Rachel's reaction to the little interaction as she got her brother's attention. "Are you going to introduce us?"

"Oh right, of course," Ross replied with his arm still wrapped around the woman's shoulders. He looked down at her and smiled as the two of them locked eyes. "Well I guess I'll start with this little one. This is Lauren, Scott's sister."

"Hi!" Lauren greeted cheerfully as the friends politely waved back, knowing too much enthusiasm would probably upset Rachel.

"Correction, _little_ sister," Scott added and she turned around, sticking her tongue out at him.

Ross laughed. "You guys already know Scott, our own private comedian."

At that, Scott immediately stood up straight and gave them all a salute. "At your service."

Ross rolled his eyes before continuing on to two men sitting together at one of the tables. One was quite large with messy black hair while the other was a skinnier black skin-toned man with curly hair.

"Over here's Nate and Henry. Nate's the one that needs to lose some pounds while Henry's the one that needs to gain it."

"Nice," the two men whistled, nodding in approval as they stared at Monica, Phoebe, and Rachel. Ross sent them a glare.

"Watch it," Scott warned. "Try anything and Ross will kill you."

"Duly noted," Henry commented, as the two changed their greeting into a simple wave.

"That's Alexa over there, along with Stephen," Ross continued, pointing at two people sitting on one of the couches; a woman wearing a small shirt and ripped jeans and a man with glasses who looked a little classier than everyone else. "Those two are actually married and are the only couple out of all of us."

At this, Rachel perked. Only couple out of all of us? She couldn't help but feel a little relieved that Ross wasn't involved with anyone, but she was still felt a little threatened by Lauren.

"Married, huh? How long have you two been together?" Monica asked.

"We grew up together," Alexa replied, smiling. "We got together a couple years ago and got married about a year ago."

"Aww, well congratulations."

"Thank you," the two of them said at the same time, making everyone smile.

"And last but not least, we have Morgan," Ross said, motioning to the brunette sitting on the couch Lauren had jumped from. "Morgan runs a coffee house downtown."

"Like we haven't had enough of that," Chandler joked, earning a slap on the shoulder by Monica.

"What's your coffee house called?" she asked.

" _Morning Covfefe_ ," Morgan responded.

" _Covfefe_? You mean coffee?" Phoebe questioned.

Morgan laughed. "Well, that's what _I_ meant but I made the mistake of letting Nate name the coffee house so now I'm stuck with _Morning Covfefe_."

Nate put his hands up in defense. "Hey, ok I'm sorry I suck at spelling. I didn't know coffee doesn't have a 'v' in it."

"Wait, you don't spell coffee with a 'v'?" Joey asked, making everyone burst out laughing.

"I think you two are really going to get along," Scott joked, earning a couple extra chuckles from everyone.

"These are my friends from New York by the way," Ross mentioned, remembering he forgot to introduce his older friends. "They're just visiting for a couple weeks. This here is Joey, and next to him are Chandler, Phoebe, Rachel, and my sister Monica."

"Oh, the over-obsessive one?" Lauren asked.

Monica threw her hands up in the air. "Why does everyone keep saying that?"

Ross chuckled, nodding his head. "Yup, that's her."

Just then someone yelled Ross' name over the music and Ross turned to see a couple of men sitting around the bar waving for him to join them. He nodded to them before turning to the others.

"Sorry, I'll be right back. I've got to go and greet a couple of people. You guys should talk and get to know each other."

With that, Ross left to join the group of men at the bar and leaving the five friends in a little awkward of a position. Luckily Ross' new group of friends were very friendly and gestured for them to take a couch.

"Here, have a seat," Morgan offered, moving over to sit on the other couch with Alexa and Stephen while Lauren took a seat on one of the high chairs.

"So, you guys are from New York? That's pretty cool," Stephen said, starting up some conversation.

"Yeah, it's a bit like San Diego except a lot busier and louder," Monica answered.

"You forgot to mention that we have no beaches over there, so compared to here its pretty lame," Chandler added.

"What? Are you kidding? The Big Apple sounds great! I hate having beaches everywhere and the burning sun blinding you wherever you go," Henry said, making a couple of his friends roll their eyes.

"Oh shut up. You're just mad that you can't tan in the sun," Nate revealed.

"Hey! Black people aren't supposed to be able to tan!" Henry countered, making everyone laugh.

"So, how long have you guys known Ross for?" Alexa asked the group.

"Quite a while actually," Phoebe said, looking at everyone else. "Couple years for me."

"I was his roommate in college," Chandler mentioned.

"I also went to the same high school as him," Rachel added shyly.

"Really? That long?" Stephen asked. "For people's he's known for so long, he's never mentioned any of you except for his little sister."

The group all shared a look. This was the third time they've heard that and they still don't really know why they had never come up in conversation.

"What about you guys? When did you all get together?" Monica asked, turning the question back to them.

The group of seven all looked at each other as if trying to figure it all out.

"Let's see, I think it was Scott and Lauren who first met him when he came to the city," Morgan started, pointing at the siblings.

Scott nodded. "Yeah, it was his first day here when I bumped into him on the streets."

"Ok, what about the rest of you?"

"Well we knew Morgan from before," Alexa mentioned for her and Stephen.

"And Henry and I have seen these guys around from time to time but we didn't really know each other well," Nate added, taking a sip of his beer.

Scott shrugged, taking a swig of his own beer. "We all saw each other once in a while. Ross was the one who brought us all together and now here we are."

The five friends nodded, turning around. They spotted Ross still talking and laughing with a large group of people as a couple others went over to greet him as well.

"You know, it's weird to see Ross so popular and well known," Phoebe commented, finally saying what's been on everyone's minds since they've gotten there. However her comment seemed to surprise everyone else.

"Really?"

"Yeah, back in New York no one knew who he was," Joey clarified.

"Well, to be fair, no one knows anyone in New York," Chandler said. "But compared to here, it seems like everyone knows him."

Once again, the group of seven seemed surprised at this revelation.

"That's hard to believe," Lauren said, speaking out for the first time. "Ross is practically a local celebrity around here."

Now it was their turn to be surprised.

"Ross? A local celebrity? Why?"

The group of seven looked at each other as if they were wondering how to answer the question.

"Well we're not really sure," Scott finally spoke up. "He just kind of took the city by storm ever since he got here. Everyone knows him and he gets a lot of exposure from working at the museum."

Something felt very unsettling about Scott's response. It was almost as if he was not telling them something and with the initial reaction the group had to the question, it seemed like all seven of them preferred to keep quiet.

Before they could question it a little further, however, Ross came back over and ending their conversation.

"I hope we're all being happily acquainted over here," he said, taking a sip of a beer he was given. He looked at it and offered it to Joey, who gladly accepted it, before sitting on the highchair next to Lauren.

"You've got some great friends over here Ross," Nate said.

"Yeah, why haven't you mentioned them before?" Morgan asked.

Ross just shrugged. "It never came up," he responded simply, ending the question there.

"Oh, I forgot to ask," Alexa said suddenly. "What do all of you do for a living?"

"Well I'm a chef," Monica answered first.

"Freelance masseuse and guitarist," Phoebe said, pointing to herself.

"That's a hell of a title," Nate commented.

"It sure is," Phoebe answered proudly.

"I'm an actor," Joey said next, turning some heads.

"Wait, really?" Morgan asked.

He nodded. "Yup, I played Doctor Drake Ramoray on _Days of Our Lives_."

"Wait that was you?" she asked with a mix of shock and excitement. Ross just chuckled.

"Morgan's a big soap opera fan," Ross mentioned. "Now that you mentioned that she'll be bugging you for the rest of the night."

"I won't!" she objected, but the look on her face said she probably would.

"What do you do Chandler?" Scott asked.

"I'm a statistical analysis and data reconfiguration manager."

"A what?"

"A statistical analysis and data reconfiguration manager," both Stephen and Henry repeated at the same time, catching Chandler off guard.

"Wait, you actually know what that is?" he asked.

"Both Henry and I work in business," Stephen answered and Henry nodded. "He's an accountant and I work in marketing."

"Huh," Chandler said, scratching his chin. "This has never happened to me before. Not even these guys really know what I do."

"Are you kidding? You're position's incredibly important when it comes to the finances and logistics of a company," Henry said, earning a strange look from Nate.

"Dude, are you even black anymore?"

Everyone rolled their eyes before turning to Rachel, the last one left.

"And how about you Rachel? What do you do?" Alexa asked.

"Um… well I used to be a waitress but now I work in fashion. I'm an assistant buyer at _Bloomingdales_ ," she responded slowly.

"Really? What a coincidence, Lauren works in fashion too!" Morgan pointed out.

"She's the _store manager_ at _Macy's_ ," Alexa added in a mocking tone, making Lauren her blush.

"Stop it you guys, you know that's not my real title," Lauren said, a little embarrassed. "I'm only an assistant manager. I don't really do anything."

Ross reached over and ruffled her hair playfully before remembering something. "Hey Rach, didn't you say you need to research fashion trends here for your work?" he asked, turning to her.

For a moment Rachel had no idea what he was talking about until she suddenly remembered the lie she had made up earlier. "Oh, um… yeah, I did say that," she answered quickly.

"Why don't you let Lauren help you out with that? She could show you around the city and bring you shopping or something," Ross suggested.

"Uh… yeah sure, that'd be great I guess," Rachel replied hesitantly, realising she hadn't thought it through before responding. "Um… but is she ok with that?"

"I'd be happy to help you out," Lauren said, giving her a friendly smile.

Rachel forced herself to smile back, though she had to admit, even though she saw her as a threat, she couldn't help but take a liking towards her. Lauren seems very humble and kind, and if she didn't have this strong feeling of jealousy towards her, perhaps they would get along very well.

The two groups talked for a little while longer, getting to know each other and breaking that awkward first introduction barrier when all of a sudden the music changed and the lights dimmed down. A slower song started to play through the sound system as couples flooded the dance floor.

"Oh, I love this song! Come on Ross, let's go dance!" Lauren exclaimed, hopping out of her seat and taking Ross' hand as she pulled him towards the dance floor. Rachel watched helplessly as they disappeared into the crowd of people.

"Can't let them have all the fun," Stephen said, taking Alexa's hand as they too headed for the dance floor.

The rest of the group looked at each other.

"You want to dance Chandler?" Monica offered.

"Sure," he smiled.

"Well if Monica's going too…" Phoebe started, standing up. "Come on Joey, let's go dance."

"Alright… but if I leave you to start dancing with someone else, don't complain," he warned, earning a gently shove.

The four of them left as Morgan turned to Nate and Henry.

"Come on boys, I'll dance with both of you," she offered, leading both men towards the dance floor and leaving Rachel and Scott as the last two behind.

Rachel immediately felt an awkward tension rise between them. She didn't really know Scott well enough to ask him to dance, and also that's not to mention the guy she wanted to dance with was already on the dance floor with someone else. Her eyes just kind of awkwardly stared at the ground as she shuffled her feet.

"Rachel, would you like to dance?"

His straightforward offer surprised her, but she still didn't really know how to respond. "Oh, uh… um…"

Scott laughed. "Don't worry, I'm not into you. I'm just asking to be polite so we don't look like losers sitting here alone."

At that, Rachel couldn't help but let out a soft laugh. "Alright, let's go dance."

Scott took a last sip of his beer before leading her to the dance floor. Once there, he gave her a friendly smile and placed his hands on her waist as her hands went around his neck. Slowly they swayed to the music, with Scott making a funny face from time to time that made her laugh, breaking the awkwardness between them.

As they moved around the dance floor, Rachel suddenly spotted Ross and Lauren in the corner of her eye and she turned her head to watch them dance. She watched as Ross twirled her around, her giggles filling the room until he pulled her back in, engulfing her in a large hug as they're eyes locked together. Rachel felt another wave of immense jealousy fill her body as she couldn't help but watch the cute little moment that was happening.

When she turned back to her dance partner, she noticed that Scott was watching them too and she suddenly felt embarrassed to be caught staring at his sister dance with Ross.

"Um, they have a strong connection, don't they?" she commented. He already caught her watching them so there was no use in hiding that.

Scott turned back and smiled. "Yeah, they do. It's been like that ever since they met. When they're having fun like that, they're practically inseparable."

That one hurt, but she kept it to herself. "They seem to really like each other."

"Yeah, they do. Like I said, they bonded almost instantly when they first met." Scott looked at the pair and chuckled. "You know, I think she might have a crush on him."

Rachel found this surprising that he'd say that so directly. "That doesn't bother you?" she asked, genuinely curious.

He just shrugged. "Not really. I don't care who Lauren dates as long as they don't hurt her and she's happy, and Ross is one of the best guy's I've ever met. I'd be overjoyed if those two got together, but I highly doubt that'll happen."

"Really? Why not?"

Scott looked over at and shrugged. "I don't know… I just don't think Ross sees her the way she sees him. He takes care of her so well, but I think he sees her more as a little sister than someone he'd date."

Rachel looked over at the pair, feeling a small spark of hope in her chest as she now saw them in a different light.

Maybe there still was a chance.

…

Later that night everyone had returned home, tired and all partied out. It had been a long night, though a fun one at that, and they had enjoyed meeting Ross' new friends and setting plans to spend some time later in the weeks to come. Though all the dancing, talking, and drinking had left them all drained of energy so when they arrived back to Ross' house, one-by-one they had all gone to clean up and go to bed.

Rachel had been the last one to clean up and get ready for bed as she had let everyone else go first. She had a lot on her mind, and after a night like this so felt a long, warm bath could help clear her head, so she had waited patiently and said goodnight to everyone before hoping into the vacated washroom.

The warm bath definitely did help calm her thoughts. All night she had been wondering all these things, mostly about Ross, and though the status of his relationship with other girls was still unclear, Rachel knew that she wanted to know if he still held feelings for her before she revealed her own feelings.

After a few more minutes relaxing in the bath, Rachel dried herself off and brushed her teeth, leaving the bathroom ready for bed in a pair of sweatpants and soft sweater.

Walking into the living room, she turned off the TV and dimmed the lights. With a yawn, she slowly climbed into bed, fumbling around with the covers before plopping down on her pillow. Closing her eyes, she slowly started to drift off until she felt a soft, cool breeze make her shiver.

Sitting up, she realized the slider door to the balcony was open. Walking over with her blanket wrapped around her, she started closing it shut when she noticed someone standing outside, their back turned to her as whoever it was stood staring out at the night sky.

Curious, she took a few steps forward, having trouble seeing who it was in the dark. She approached the figure.

"Ross?"

Hearing his name, Ross turned around to see Rachel standing a few steps behind him, her blanket tightly wrapped around her.

"Oh, I'm sorry. Did I wake you?"

"Oh no, I just got out of the bathroom," she answered and he nodded, turning back around.

Unsure of what to do, Rachel slowly walked forward until she stood next to him against the railing. She looked up at what he was looking at and saw a beautiful night sky shining above her, with stars glimmering in the distance and the large moon lighting up the dark sky.

"Wow," Rachel whispered in awe, mesmerized by the view. A view like this was rare back in New York.

To her surprise, Ross didn't respond like he normally would do. She looked up at him, noticing him staring outwards with a straight face with the moon glistening in his eyes. He seemed to be lost in thought and it was almost as if she wasn't even there.

"Ross?" she asked, snapping him out of his trance. "Are you alright?"

Ross looked over at her, locking eyes for just a second before turning back, something she caught onto.

"Yeah, yeah I'm fine."

Rachel suddenly realised this was the first time in a long time they had been so close to each other. She could almost feel the heat coming off his body as her arm brushed his side, but she didn't dare move closer. It was still unclear of where they stood in terms of their relationship, and though a part of her wanted to ask him about that, she knew now was not the time.

"Are you sure you're fine?" she asked, unintentionally showing some more concern in her voice than she wanted. "You can talk to me Ross if something's bothering you."

"No, no, it's nothing. It's just…"

He trailed off, closing his eyes as he rubbed the bridge of his nose. With a sigh, he looked back up at the night sky.

"…everything's changed…"

Without another word, Ross turned around and headed back inside the house, leaving Rachel outside alone. She turned to watch him disappear inside, her eyes trying to figure out what has caused him to become so mysterious.

 _Everything's changed_.

What did that mean?

…

 **Author's Note: Honestly I'm a little 50-50 on this chapter. Lots of new characters in this one and they'll be a few more in later chapters as well. If it helps, Scott and Lauren are the only real ones you'll need to know. Everyone else is a background/side character.**

 **By the way my exams are coming up soon so updates for the next week or two will be slow and few. Sorry about that but priorities first, right?**


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter 7**

 **Author's Note: Real quick, I want to quickly disclaim that I didn't meant to offend anyone by using 'black skin-toned' in the previous chapter. It's supposed to simply mean that they were black, but I wasn't sure if being so direct was the right way of saying it. I'm also pretty sure I once read 'black skin-toned' in a book so I thought that might have been the proper way to write it. My apologies for the misinterpretation and misunderstandings.**

It was dark.

When Rachel looked around she saw nothing but black void. There was no light and all around her was pitch black. There were no walls, no floors, no ceilings, and no sounds.

Just darkness.

"Hello?" she called out. There was no answer other then the echoing of her voice.

"Where am I?" she asked again. Again, no response.

Standing up, Rachel began walking in one direction, not knowing where she was or where she was going. She didn't know what to do. She tried yelling again but once again got nothing but the echo of her voice in return.

Suddenly a familiar voice called her name in the distance.

" **Rachel…** "

She immediately spun around to where the voice was heard, still unable to see anything except pitch black darkness.

"Hello? Guys? Who are you?" Rachel called out.

" **Rachel…** "

That voice. It sounded so familiar but she just couldn't put a name to it. She recognized it, but from where?

" **Rachel…** "

All of a sudden she began sprinting in the direction of the voice. It was as if her legs were separate from her body and moving on their own.

As she ran through the dark abyss she started to see something small in the distance. Slowly the object started to get bigger and bigger, and when she finally neared whatever it was and got a good look at it, her breath got caught in her throat.

"Ross…?" she asked in disbelief. Was it really him?

" **Rachel** ," he said, confirming it was his voice she had heard.

"Ross, where are we? How did we get here?"

He remained silent, placing a finger to his mouth to shush her. She wasn't really sure what was going on, but she trusted him so she stopped talking.

Then, slowly Ross began walking backwards, his eyes remaining on hers as he did, but when she tried to move she found that her feet were frozen in place.

"What?" she questioned, trying to pull her feet up but it was as if they were stuck to the 'ground'. She couldn't move.

When she looked back she saw that Ross hadn't stopped and was still walking away without her.

"Wait! Ross! Help me, I can't move!" she cried out. He stopped but didn't move from there, only looking at her from his distance away.

" **Rachel.** "

As Rachel kept trying to move her feet she suddenly saw figures begin to appear behind him. She couldn't recognize any of them as they materialized but a moment later she saw two women approaching him from behind, recognizing them as the two women from the beach. They walked up to him, not paying any attention to her as they both grabbed on to his arms, sending a wave of jealousy run through her body.

"Ross, what's going on?" she asked desperately.

"Ross!" suddenly came a voice, turning him around. Rachel strained to see who it was and saw Lauren standing a distance away, calling out to him in her sweet little voice. "Come on, we're leaving!"

Ross smiled as Rachel looked on with a look of pained disbelief. These women were stealing him away from her.

"No Ross! You can't leave me here!" she cried out, feeling tears begin to form in her eyes.

Ross turned around, meeting her glance but not showing any signs in wanting to help her. " **I have to go**."

No, he couldn't. He can't be leaving her. Not like this.

"Please Ross, don't go! I need you! Don't leave me!"

" **Rachel, I have to go.** "

Tears were running down her face as she struggled with all her might to move her feet so she could get to him.

"No, Ross you can't! Please don't leave me!" Rachel cried, falling to her knees in her struggle. "You can't leave me again! I love you! Don't you love me?"

Ross stared at her and slowly shook his head, breaking her heart.

"No… no this can't be happening," she wept, desperately looking for answers in his eyes. "Ross I… I know you love me! You can't leave me! What… what about the ring you gave me?"

He seemed to be confused. " **I didn't give you a ring.** "

"Yes you did! It's right here!" Quickly she wiped her tears and searched her pockets but was shocked to find she didn't have it. "What? No… I had it. It… it was right here, I…"

" **This ring?** "

Rachel looked up and was horrified to see that he was holding it up. The beautiful ring that she swore was hers, he had it. Had he not given it to her? Did he not love her like he said he did? She was watching her whole world collapse in front of her.

"B-but… but…" she stuttered, tears now falling from her eyes like a river.

"Ross, come on!" she heard Lauren call out again, making the remaining pieces of her broken heart sink down into her stomach.

Ross turned around and smiled at Lauren again before turning back and looking her in the eyes with an expressionless look.

" **I have to go** ," he said before turning his back on her as he slowly began walking towards Lauren with the two women from the beach still holding his arms.

"No, don't leave me! Please don't leave me! Ross!" Rachel cried out desperately but she could do nothing but watch him reach Lauren and slowly the four of them began to disappear.

"ROSS!"

Rachel's eyes shot open as she instantly sat up in her bed, breathing heavily and covered in a thin layer of sweat. She took a moment to realise where she was, recognising her surroundings as Ross' living room.

"It was just a dream," she whispered to herself, catching her breath as she felt her heart still racing in her chest.

Taking a moment to calm her emotions, without a second thought Rachel immediately got up and went over to her bags, reaching into a pocket and taking out a blue velvet box. She quickly opened it and let out a deep sigh of relief as she saw the beautiful engagement ring staring back at her.

Yes, it was all a dream. A horrific dream that _felt_ real, but it was a dream. Just a dream.

Putting the ring safely back into her bag, Rachel rubbed her eyes and looked over at the clock in the living room, seeing that it was still early in the morning. No one was awake yet except her, but after that horrible nightmare she just had, there was no way she was going back to sleep.

Rachel took a few more minutes to sit and really calm down before deciding to go and shower. If she wasn't going to go back to sleep she may as well start getting ready for the day, and perhaps a nice warm shower can help her clear her mind of that awful dream.

…

About half an hour later Rachel left the bathroom in a simple t-shirt and shorts. Walking back to her makeshift bed in the living room, she started folding a few of her clothes when she was surprised to notice Ross standing at the doorway with his back turned to her. For a moment, flashes of her dream appeared in her mind but she quickly brushed that aside.

"Hey," she greeted, not too loud as not to wake up her friends upstairs.

Hearing someone's voice Ross immediately turned around, revealing a Walkman in his hand. He seemed surprised to see that she was up and slowly took out his headphones from his ears.

"Oh hey, what are you doing up so early?"

"I should be asking you the same thing."

Ross shrugged. "I'm just about to go for my morning run."

"You go on runs?" she asked, genuinely surprised. She used to always try and get him to join her on her morning jogs but he rarely ever did.

"Yeah, I always try to go for a run before work," he answered, also remembering the same thing she was. "Hey, do you still go on your morning jogs?"

"Um… yeah, sometimes."

"Do you want to join me?" Ross offered, gesturing towards the door.

Rachel thought about it for a second, wondering if it was a smart idea to join him. But seeing that it was still early and she really had nothing to do, she decided there was no harm in going on a jog.

"Sure," she smiled, grabbing some clothes from her bag. "Just let me get changed."

A moment later Rachel found herself jogging along side of Ross, wearing a small sports bra and yoga pants as they followed a sidewalk that ran along the ocean's edge. Unlike New York, which always seemed to be awake, it seemed like half the city was still asleep as it was significantly quieter than it normally was. She enjoyed the silence though as it provided her a new scenario.

Speaking of scenarios, she also had to notice how beautiful the ocean looked so early in the morning. Last night, seeing the moon reflect on the water's surface was already quite a sight, but seeing the sunrise illuminate the calm waters was equally as elegant.

"Do you usually go on jogs with other people?" she asked as they ran along the pathway.

"Not often," he replied. "Sometimes Lauren and I go later in the day but I've never had company in the morning."

Rachel couldn't help but smile. It was silly but she was glad she was the only one who got to share this with him.

Many heavy breaths later, the pathway the two of them followed seem to curve closer to an area which served as a mini-beach. A large building off to the side cast a large shadow over the beach, giving it an almost eerie feel. Up ahead, Rachel spotted three men standing around in the shadows, the first people she's seen on their jog, and though she didn't notice anything strange, Ross certainly did.

"Oh shit…" he mumbled, slowing down to a walking pace as she did the same.

"What?" she asked, catching her breath a little as she looked at the three men, who seemed to have noticed them approaching.

"Trouble," Ross muttered, and Rachel felt him tense up. "Don't say anything and avoid eye-contact."

Before she could ask why or get any clarification, she noticed the three men begin walking towards them. They were dressed in dark clothes and as they neared, she could sense an intimidating feeling from the men.

"My, my, look what we have here," the middle man said. Rachel immediately detected the smell of cigar smoke from his mouth and frowned slightly. "If it isn't Ross, and he's got a little treat with him."

"What do you want Blaine?" Ross asked with a little irritation and forcefulness in his voice.

"Woah, hey, no need to start anything here," Blaine reacted; the two men beside him chuckled. "What? A guy can't reconnect with another brother?"

Ross didn't respond, only giving him a glare.

Blaine chuckled. "Where've you been Ross? The _big man_ 's been looking for you. He says he wants to talk to you."

"You can tell him I'm uninterested," he spat back, making the two men react by reaching for their waists.

"Hey, there's no need for that," the man said, raising a hand to stop the two men. He flashed a toothy grin, revealing a golden tooth in his mouth, before turning to Rachel, looking her up and down. "Now who do we have here?"

"Looks like Ross found himself a play toy," one of the other men spoke up chuckling.

Rachel began feeling incredibly uncomfortable as Blaine slowly walked around her, checking her out with an intense look that made her feel disgusted.

"I have to say, you are one fine girl. Tell me, what's your name baby?"

"That's none of your business," Ross stepped in, putting an arm around her shoulders and pulling her closer to him. This caught her off guard and she felt her heart beat faster.

"Hmm… looks like Ross has got more than a play toy," Blaine mocked, walking back to the other two men. "I'm just asking for a name Ross. No harm, no foul."

"It's Rachel," she spat, hoping he'd finally stop staring at her. She felt Ross tighten his grip around her and she knew he didn't like what she did, but she couldn't help it. The guy was starting to get on her nerves.

"Rachel, huh? Interesting…"

"Now if you excuse us, we'll be on our way," Ross said in a forceful tone as he pushed them forward. Slowly he started leading her past the three men as they continued on their path.

"Hey Ross! He's onto you! He'll be coming after you soon!" Blaine shouted from behind. Ross didn't stop, however, and led her further past them, leaving the three men behind them.

"I told you not to say anything," Ross said sometime later, not looking at her.

"I know," she responded carefully, sensing an aggravation in his tone. "I just thought if I told him my name he'd stop bothering us."

Ross didn't say anything except letting her go from under his arm. He slowly began jogging again and she followed suite as a part of her kind of wished he didn't remove his arm.

"By the way, what was that guy talking about?" Rachel asked, curious.

"Nothing," he answered quickly and fastened his pace. "Let's just keep going."

Meanwhile many feet behind them, Blaine looked towards the direction they had gone, a smirk on his face as he turned to the other two men.

" _Rachel_ … Remember that name boys. _Enrico_ may have a use for that information."

…

By the time they got back to the house it was already mid-morning and they expected the others to be up, though as they approached the front door, that wasn't exactly the first thought on their minds at the moment.

Rachel was still a little shook from what happened earlier and it didn't help that Ross told her to keep quiet about the situation. It also didn't help that he had kept quiet the majority of their way back, which only raised her suspicion further. It was obvious there was a story behind it all, but like a lot of other things she's noticed, Ross hasn't mentioned a thing about it.

"Remember, we keep what happened between the two of us," he warned, speaking for the first time in what seemed like forever. Rachel just nodded, deciding to follow along for now but that didn't make her any less suspicious.

As Ross unlocked the door and the two of them walked in, they were immediately greeted by their group of friends who were gathered in the kitchen having breakfast.

"Oh hey! I found them!" Phoebe exclaimed from the counter.

Chandler rolled his eyes. "Thanks Pheebs, we had no idea they had just walked in."

"Where'd you guys go?" Monica asked as she fried up some more eggs, no surprise there.

Ross looked over at Rachel before turning back to his sister. "We were just out for a jog."

"Just the two of you?"

"I think I'd remember if any of you had joined us," he responded amusingly as he placed his key down on a nearby table. "I'm going to take a shower."

As Ross left for his room Rachel noticed the others staring at her and she raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

"So… jogging, huh?" Monica asked with a knowing tone.

Rachel rolled her eyes. "Don't worry, we used protection," she replied sarcastically.

"You know what I meant."

Rachel walked around the counter and stood next to Joey as she poured herself a cup of water. "Relax Mon, nothing happened. We just went for a morning run, that's all."

"If you say so…"

She laughed under her breath as she took a sip of the water when she noticed Joey staring at her sports bra in the corner of her eye. She put the glass down and gave him a look.

"Joey can you please stop staring at my breasts? I'm in love with your best friend."

"Sorry, I couldn't help myself. They're right there!" he exclaimed, earning a hit over the head from Phoebe.

Rachel rolled her eyes and finished her glass of water. "I'm going to get cleaned up as well."

After another warm shower to clear her thoughts Rachel found herself back in the kitchen with the others as they ate their breakfast and held small conversations with each other. A part of her was still thinking about that encounter with those three men but after some time she decided to put it aside for now. It's not like she was going to confront him about it any time soon, and plus, she already had a ton of stuff on her mind.

As they continued to talk, just then Ross re-emerged from the hallway, briefcase in hand as he fiddled with his watch. He was wearing a white collared shirt, fit with a nice black tie and the brown leather jacket over top. Matched with a pair of black jeans, Rachel couldn't help but stare as he walked over to the counter near the door.

"Alright, I'm off to work," he announced.

"What, already? You haven't even had breakfast," Monica pointed out.

"That's alright, we've got some breakfast at the museum," Ross replied as he put on his boots. "By the way, Lauren's going to swing by soon to pick you three girls up."

Rachel practically choked on the piece of toast in her mouth and needed help from Chandler for her to swallow it down. "What? Is that today?"

"Yeah, don't you remember? You were the one who set the date for you guys to go shopping."

"Oh, that's right. I remember," she responded, laughing nervously.

Truthfully she had totally forgotten about that as she had spent all of last night being jealous, despite what Scott had told her during their dance. She still viewed Lauren as a threat and now as memories her dream rushed back to her, she was extremely unenthusiastic about going shopping with her. At least Phoebe and Monica are going to be there too.

"Hey, wait a minute. If the girls are going shopping what are we going to do all day?" Joey asked, pointing at himself and Chandler.

Ross scratched his head. "Well you guys are welcome to hang out here. I think I've got a videogame console or two lying around, and if you want you can always take a taxi and head downtown or to the beach or something."

Joey and Chandler turned to each other at the same time.

"Beach!" they exclaimed in unison.

Ross chuckled along with everyone else. "That reminds me, here are two spare keys I had," he said, removing two keys from his pocket and placing them on the counter.

"Oh, I'll take one!" Monica exclaimed, grabbing one of the keys.

"I'll take the other then," Chandler said, taking the other for him and Joey.

"Great, just don't lose them and we'll be on good terms," Ross smiled, checking his watch. "Ok, I've got to go. I'll see you all later."

"Bye!" they all chorused as they watched him leave out the front door.

"Quick Joe, let's eat as fast as we can so we have more time to pick up beach babes!" Chandler suggested.

"Ok!" he agreed and the two of them began stuffing their faces with food as the girls looked on, rolling their eyes.

"Well, I guess while they're doing that, it's shopping for us," Monica said, turning to the other girls.

In an instant Rachel's smile left her face and she looked down, poking at her eggs. "Oh yay… _shopping_!"

Phoebe and Monica shared a look, easily picking up the sarcasm in her voice. "Am I missing something here? I thought you loved shopping," Phoebe mentioned.

"I do, but it's who we're shopping _with_ …" she mumbled.

"Lauren?" Monica asked, sounding genuinely surprised. "You don't like Lauren? But she's so nice and friendly."

"It's not that I don't like her... it's just… you know… I don't like her relationship with _him_."

"Oh, I get it," Phoebe said, catching on. "She's doing the whole jealousy thing."

"You're jealous of Ross and Lauren?" Monica questioned.

She played with the hem of her shirt. "Well… yeah… kind of. Haven't you noticed how close they are?"

"Yeah, I guess they're close, but they're like you and Ross when you first came to the city."

"Right, but aren't you forgetting that Ross was secretly in love with me the entire time?" she pointed out.

Monica paused. "Ok, fair point," she admitted. "But I still think you should give her a chance. She seems like a really good person and that shouldn't change just because she's close with your _boyfriend_."

Rachel gave her the evil eye and was about to say something when the doorbell rang. Monica looked at the door and turned back to her.

"Look, that must be her. Just trust me Rach, give her a chance and you'll like her," she said before walking over to the front door.

"Hey!" Lauren greeted when Monica opened the door for her, wearing a small white shirt and short shorts.

"Hey Lauren, it's nice to see you again!" she smiled, giving her a friendly hug.

"Nice to see you too!" she replied. After they broke she took a few steps into the house, peering at the group in the kitchen. "You guys ready to go?"

Rachel felt Phoebe bump her on the elbow and she sat up, smiling. "Yup, we're ready when you are!" she exclaimed.

"Cool," Lauren nodded with a smile. That's when she noticed Chandler and Joey stuffing their faces with food and she raised an eyebrow. "…and what's up with these guys?"

Monica rolled her eyes. "They're just trying to finish their breakfast so they can have as much time as possible picking up girls at the beach," she exclaimed.

"And believe me, they'll need _all_ of that time if they're planning on picking up girls," Phoebe added, walking over.

"They should hang out with Nate and Henry. Those four would get along great," Lauren suggested.

"Oh God, please no. Two of them is already too much," Monica joked. She laughed a sweet little laugh and Rachel couldn't help but frown as she joined the others at the doorway.

 _Even her laugh is cute_ , she thought to herself.

The sound of a taxi horn honking sounded from outside and Lauren quickly turned around.

"Oh, we better go. I think our taxi driver's a little impatient," she said, leading Phoebe out the door as Rachel and Monica put on their shoes and grabbed their purses.

"We'll see you guys in a bit," Monica said to the Chandler and Joey. The two of them quickly looked up and waved, both their mouths still stuffed with food with some of it even dropping out of their mouths.

"Ew, come on Joey, that's disgusting," Rachel said, making a face as she turned to leave the house when she felt a hand on her shoulder. She turned around to see Monica looking at her with one of her looks.

"Remember Rach, just give her a chance."

She sighed, finally giving in. "Alright fine, I'll give her a chance," she agreed. Monica nodded and the two of them left, closing the door behind them.

…

Hours later Monica and Phoebe were sitting on a bench in the middle of a large outlet mall, all smiles and giggles as they looked over the things they had bought today.

At that moment they heard laughter come from their right and they turned to see Lauren and Rachel, holding two large bags each as they walked over to them.

"Guys! Guys! Check it out!" Rachel exclaimed, placing her bags on the bench and pulling out a beautiful white blouse that featured a mesmerizing scrolling soutache design. "Sixty percent off at Macy's!"

"No way!" Phoebe and Monica's mouths dropped open as they felt the blouse's fabric.

"Yup!" Lauren nodded in confirmation. "It was originally only forty percent off but I pulled a few strings and managed to bring it up to sixty. It's the last one too."

"Wow Rach, you're so lucky!" Phoebe gushed as Monica nudged her, giving her a knowing look. Rachel just smiled.

Monica had been right when she had told her to give Lauren a chance, and just like she thought when she first met her, she had quickly taken a liking to her. She was funny, incredibly nice and generous, and just a really likable person to be around. She was like that sweet, humble girl who everyone got along with. Lauren was just a beautiful person, inside and out, and a part of her felt guilty for casting her aside right off the bat without getting to know her first. They had really bonded over today's events.

Though of course, the other part of her was still jealous, and one would think that after seeing all of Lauren's good qualities that jealousy would be even greater than before, but the truth was that she was just too likable for her to not like her.

"So," Lauren said, turning to her and snapping her out of her thoughts. "I hope you got all the fashion research you needed."

Rachel smiled. "Yup! San Diego's fashion consists of a lot of spring and summer clothes."

Lauren laughed. "Sounds about right."

As the four women talked and laughed, Monica checked her watch.

"Oh wow, would you look at that! It's already four!" she exclaimed, turning to the others. "We should probably head back."

"Yeah, you're right," Lauren agreed, picking up her bags. "The fastest way back would be to cut through the mall and hail a taxi at one of the main streets on the other side."

"Ok," the three other women nodded and the four of them were on their way.

As they walked through the large plaza Lauren slowed to walk beside them.

"Hey, do you mind if I ask you guys something?" she asked, getting their attention.

"Sure," Monica responded.

Lauren looked down and shuffled her feet a little. "Ok… well, um, it's kind of a personal question. Not about you, but… um, about Ross."

Rachel's heart immediately sunk after she said his name. Monica and Phoebe noticed her reaction and knew they should be careful with how they answer the question.

"Um… sure, what about Ross do you want to know?"

Lauren fell into another short silence. "Ok, um… so I'm guessing you guys know Ross really well. I just wanted to know… did Ross have any serious relationships back when he lived in New York?"

Phoebe and Monica shared a look while Rachel kept quiet.

"Um… yeah, he was married for a few years but ended up getting a divorce since his wife was a lesbian," Phoebe answered.

Lauren nodded. "Yeah, he mentioned that before, but he said that happened a few years ago. Was there… um, a more recent relationship he had been in?"

Once again Phoebe and Monica looked at each other, except this time they looked even more conflicted than before. Rachel noticed this and not wanting to put her friends in such an uncomfortable position, she stepped forward.

"Yes," she said, even surprising herself with how quick she was to admit it. "Ross, um, dated this girl for a year, but they ended up breaking up."

"Oh."

What followed was an awkward silence as on one side, Lauren seemed to be deep in thought and on the other, Rachel seemed to be panicking on the inside, leaving Phoebe and Monica uncomfortably in the middle. Eventually it was Monica who broke the silence and turned to Lauren.

"Is there… a reason why you wanted to know about that?"

Lauren shuffled her feet. "Yes, there is actually. I... um, I'm kind of in love with Ross."

The three of them were totally caught off guard as all their eyes widened, Rachel especially. It was so sudden and so direct, something she noticed with Scott as well. Family blood she assumed, but it didn't make it any less shocking.

"Woah, um… uh, huh…" Monica stuttered, not quite sure what to say. "Um, does Ross know?"

She nodded slowly and Rachel picked up hints of sadness in her expression. "He does. I've told him multiple times how I feel about him."

"And, uh, what does he say?"

Lauren sighed. "I don't know… usually he says he 'isn't in the right place' or he wants us to remain friends, but all I want is for us to be more," she explained in a sad tone. "I mean, here's this perfect guy who cares for me and makes me feel like I'm one-of-a-kind, but no matter what I do he always tells me he's not ready for a serious relationship, which is why I thought something might have happened in the past."

Another short silence passed by but this time because the three of them had no idea what to say.

For Rachel, those few seconds of silence provoked memories of her breakup to re-emerge. She remembered how much pain and suffering the breakup had put her through, and though it did a toll on her, she hadn't considered how much he had been affected by it. Is their breakup the reason why he hasn't dated anyone since he moved to the city? A part of her felt bad for Lauren. Here was an amazing woman who had fallen in love with the man who was tainted with their history and past.

Noticing the silence and the looks on all their faces, Lauren softly laughed it off, realising how awkward things had gotten.

"I'm sorry, you guys all look bummed out. I shouldn't have said anything," she said, earning a few sympathetic smiles.

"No, that's alright Lauren. We understand," Monica responded, touching her gently on the arm.

"Thanks," she smiled, clearing her voice and looking down at her watch. "Um, we better get going. The street should be just up ahead."

The three of them followed Lauren forward where they hailed a cab and were on their way.

…

When they got back to the house, Monica unlocked the door and the four of them walked in, surprised to see Joey, Chandler, Ross, and Scott already inside, beers in hand as they conversed. It was Ross who noticed them come in first and immediately smiled.

"Hey!"

"Hi," Lauren smiled, the closest one inside. She walked over to him and he swung and arm around her shoulders, kissing her cheek.

"How'd it go?" he asked, giving the other three girls a nod.

"Pretty good. We bought a lot of stuff," she answered, showing him the stuff in her two bags.

"Wow, that's impressive," he whistled his approval. "Any of that stuff for me?"

Lauren giggled and put her bags down. "Nope. Maybe next time though."

Ross laughed before turning to Rachel, who without knowing was watching their interaction carefully. She still felt a pang of jealousy inside her; she was only human after all.

"Rach, you get all the research data you needed for your project?"

"Hmm? Oh, yeah, I got all of it. Lauren was a great help," she said, smiling half-heartedly.

"That's great to hear," he smiled back, looking down and giving Lauren a little shake beneath his arm.

"So, what's the plan now that we're all here?" Scott asked, finishing his beer.

"Well I was thinking we could go watch a football game," Ross suggested.

"Sure, I'm down," Scott nodded his approval.

The girls looked at each other and shrugged. "We're ok with that."

"Who's playing?" Joey asked.

"I'm pretty sure its Chargers and Giants today," Scott replied.

"Wait, really?" he asked, excited to hear the Giants were playing. "Awesome, I forgot the Giants were on the road this week."

"Yeah, well it's too bad they're going to get smacked by the Chargers," Scott taunted.

"Hah, get a load of this guy," Joey snorted, elbowing Chandler. "Ten bucks says Giants win today."

"You're on," Scott accepted and the two shook on it.

Ross just rolled his eyes as he started leading everyone else to the door.

"Let's go before these two start betting more than money."

Everyone laughed and began walking out towards Ross and Scott's car.

"You better not be a Chargers fan," Joey said as Ross chuckled under his breath, closing the door behind him.

…

 **Author's Note: My exams end sometime this week so I should be returning back to normal schedule soon. That said, if you've followed my previous stories you know that I don't necessarily like to have deadlines for chapters but I think I'll be aiming to update twice a week.**

 **Anyways, hope you all enjoyed. Leave a review if you'd like. And if you don't… then why not? No one's going to judge you… except maybe me. :P**


	8. Chapter 8

**Chapter 8**

It was a typical morning in bright and sunny San Diego. Birds sand melodic melodies from outside and the ocean waves ran along the rocky edges behind the house. The warm sun shone through the open balcony door, leaving a trial of glistening light in the living room as a soft ocean breeze blew into the house.

Ross and the three women of the house were in the kitchen, having breakfast and enjoying the beautiful morning that only San Diego can provide. Ross sat with today's paper in hand, sipping his coffee as Monica, their self-appointed honorary house-chef, busied herself with frying up some bacon for everyone. Rachel and Phoebe also sat next to each other, talking and watching the morning news that played on the living room TV.

As they continued on with their daily routine, voices coming down the stairs got their attention and the four of them turned to see what was going on. Moments later Chandler and Joey appeared, seemingly in a heated discussion that the group picked up bits and pieces of.

"No! Absolutely not!" Chandler exclaimed.

"Oh come on! I'd let you do it!" Joey whined in return and Chandler made a gagging face.

"That's disgusting! No means _NO_!"

"What are you two arguing about this time?" Monica questioned as the two of them approached the kitchen counter.

"It's not a big deal," Joey muttered, sitting down as Monica placed some bacon on his plate.

"Not a big deal?!" Chandler exclaimed, his voice getting higher.

"Then tell everyone and see if they think it's a big deal."

"Ok," he started, turning to everyone else. "Alright, so it started last night Joey kept rolling around on the bed and kept me up all night. Then this morning, I confront him about it and he tells me he's been sleeping uncomfortably ever since we got here."

"Ok… and how is that a big deal?" Phoebe asked.

"I'm not done," Chandler replied. "So we're talking about what we should do and his solution is for us to sleep without any clothes on!"

Everyone covered their mouths to stifle a laugh as they turned to Joey to see his response. He simply looked up from his bacon and shrugged.

"What? That's how I sleep at home. Underwear makes me feel all restrained and uncomfortable."

The group stifled another laugh as Chandler started wildly gesturing towards Joey.

"Do you see what I have to deal with?"

The girls looked at each other and shared a smile. They knew at that moment they were going to mess with him.

"Nope, I don't see a problem with that," Monica stated.

"What?!" Chandler squeaked again.

"Yeah, what's wrong with you two sleeping naked with each other?" Phoebe reiterated, covering her smile.

"You don't see what wrong with that sentence?!" he exploded. "So what? You're telling me you two sleep naked with each other?"

Monica and Phoebe gave each other another smile before turning to Chandler.

"We might… but that's for us to know," Monica responded. "But I will say there might be some… _rubbing_ … involved."

Chandler's mouth dropped open and it took him a moment to recover. "Ok! Then how about this? We'll sleep naked as long as the four of us switch partners!"

"Hey, I'm ok with sleeping anywhere as long as I get to sleep naked," Joey stated, smiling towards the girls.

"Ew! No!" Monica and Phoebe yelled in disgust.

"Ok fine, how about…" Chandler trailed off, looking around the house until his eyes landed on the living room coaches. "Ok look! There are two pull out coaches in the living room. Joey can sleep on one of those!"

"Hey, woah!" Rachel stepped in, pointing at Chandler. "I am not waking up in the morning to see Joey's junk hanging out!"

"Alright, what if…" he started, turning to Ross but he cut him off before he could even say anything.

"That's not even an option," he said sternly.

"Great, well I guess I'm still stuck with Joey," Chandler stated. Joey opened his mouth but he immediately pointed him off. "... _with_ his clothes on!"

"Come on Chandler, what's the big deal?" Joey questioned back. "We already share everything. We're sharing a bed, we share soap, we share a toothbrush..."

"Woah, what?" he interrupted, looking at him bewildered. "You're using my toothbrush?"

Joey scratched the back of his head. "Yeah, well I kind of forgot mine at home so I've been using yours."

"Dude! We've been here for almost a week and only _now_ you tell me?!" Chandler exclaimed, starting to gag.

"Well, you see-"

"No, that's enough. I'm done with this conversation," Chandler interjected. "You are _not_ sleeping naked and you are not allowed to use my toothbrush!"

"But-"

"Ehp!" He halted him with a hand, pointing to his seat before sitting down without another word to start eating his breakfast.

"Fine," Joey pouted, turning to Ross. "Ross, can I use a toothbrush?"

He raised an eyebrow. "If you're asking if you can use _my_ toothbrush it's a definitive no."

"No, I mean can I use an unused one?"

"Sure," he responded, turning back to his paper. "I've should have some extra ones in my bathroom drawer."

"Ok thanks," Joey replied, putting down his fork as he hopped off his seat. He started towards the hallway that led to Ross' room.

As he walked down the hallway, Joey realised he had never actually seen Ross' room so when he approached his door he was quite eager to see what was inside. Slowly turning the doorknob he wandered in.

Disappointingly, nothing special really stood out from Ross' room. In fact, it looked pretty much like the rest of the house. The walls were painted a dark shade of blue-gray while his mahogany furniture resembled a classy, modernized bedroom. A few paintings were hung here and there but aside from that, there was barely anything personal. He did have a desk with a few documents lying on it if that counts, but Joey couldn't find a single photo in the room. He was even surprised to not find a single dinosaur knick-knack out, remembering how Ross' old bedroom in New York used to be littered with those.

After wandering around the room for a bit Joey eventually headed into the bathroom connected to the bedroom, surprised to find how large it was. Every other bathroom in the house was pretty standard but Ross' was massive compared to those, even sporting a large tub with what appeared to have water jets on its sides.

"Damn Ross," Joey whistled, tempted to strip down and hop into the tub to try it out, but he remembered what he was doing here and quickly switched his focus to finding those extra toothbrushes.

He stood up straight and looked around, surprised to find so many drawers and cabinets in the bathroom. There were drawers beneath the sink counter and cabinets above it. Joey started pulling open a couple of them, not finding anything except an assortment of bathroom items and products.

After a few other drawers Joey stood back up from his crouched position, scratching his head. Surely it wasn't this hard to find a toothbrush. He started at himself in the large mirror, thinking of where to look next, before reaching over and opening the cabinets above the sink.

The first cabinet contained a variety of colognes and other scented products. He quickly closed that one and moved to the next.

The other cabinet was a little more interesting. There was some household medication in there and a small First Aid kit, but what really got his attention was a little white container right in the front of the bottom shelf. He slowly picked it up, unsure of what it was as he didn't recognize it as something that was in his or Monica's bathroom. He gently shook the container, hearing whatever was inside rattled around as he read the container's label.

" _Celexa_ ," he read out loud, scratching his head. He had never heard of it before and wondered what it was for.

After a couple moments he decided to just go and ask Ross. He couldn't find the extra toothbrushes and curious to see what this ' _Celexa_ ' thing was for, he decided to ask about that too. Whistling, Joey shut the cabinet door, tossing the container in his hands as he left the bathroom.

…

Meanwhile back in the kitchen, Ross had just finished reading his article when he heard whistling coming from his bedroom hallway.

"Joey, you find what you were looking for?" he asked, turning around.

A moment later Joey emerged from the corridor, looking at the contained in his hand. "No, but I was wondering what-"

When Ross saw what was in Joey's hand his eyes immediately shot open as he quickly got up, cutting Joey off and pushing him back into the hallway. Then, to Joey's surprise, he forcefully pinned him up against the wall, his arm pushing against the base of his throat while Ross' other hand restrained the hand that held the container.

"Dude, what the hell?" Joey questioned, caught off guard by Ross' strength. He looked up and was further surprised by the angry look on his face.

"Where did you get this?" he demanded, motioning towards the container.

"I found it in your cabinet," Joey answered, slightly frightened by the fury in Ross' voice. He had never seen this side of him before.

"Why were you going through my things?" he growled, pushing harder against his neck.

"Y-you told me to look for a toothbrush," Joey stuttered, both from intimidation and the fact that Ross was making it tough to breath.

For a second Ross stood there, staring daggers at him, before letting go of him. He immediately snatched the container from his hands as Joey coughed and rubbed his neck before turning back to him and staring him down.

"Never go digging through my things again," Ross warned in a low voice, giving him an icy glare. Joey nodded quickly. "Also never speak of this incident again. This incident never happened, got it?"

Joey nodded quickly again, wanting to get away as soon as possible. "Got it."

"Good. Go back to the kitchen and I'll get your toothbrush," he ordered and Joey did was he was told, quickly making his way back to the kitchen. He immediately took a seat and put his head down, staring at his fork for a few moments as he tried to process what just happened.

"Did you get your toothbrush?" Chandler questioned, snapping him out of his thoughts.

"No, uh, I couldn't find it so Ross went to go get it for me," Joey responded slowly. Chandler just nodded, seemingly too tired to notice or to question his change in attitude before returning to his breakfast.

A few moments later Ross returned from the hallway, the threatening look now wiped from his face as he cleared his throat and approached Joey.

"Here's your toothbrush Joe," he said in a normal tone.

Joey nervously looked up and slowly took the toothbrush from him. "Um, thanks Ross."

He nodded, not giving him a second look before turning and grabbing his briefcase from a nearby table.

"I'm heading off. I'll see you all later," Ross said. Everyone gave him their goodbyes before he put on his shoes and left out the door.

…

It was early in the afternoon when the group of friends arrived at the museum. Typically at around this time they'd be out on the beach or walking around the city, but today they decided to switch it up a bit and visit Ross at the museum. After all, it seemed like plenty of other people were doing it so they were curious to see what the fuss was about.

Getting out of the taxi, the group walked into the familiar building, seeing many more people than they did the last time they were here. There were people walking and admiring the art while others sat around and tended to their kids. They even spotted a tour guide with a train of visitors following him around as he guided them through the museum. The five of them smiled as they walked by, heading over to the reception desk.

"Hi, Angela is it?" Monica greeted, recognizing the receptionist from their first day in the city. Unlike then, however, she looked up at them and smiled.

"Well if it isn't the doctor's sister and his friends. It's nice to see you all again," Angela greeted. "How are you enjoying San Diego?"

"It's very warm and sunny. Definitely a brighter change than New York," Monica replied.

Angela laughed softly. "Well it's nice to hear you all are enjoying yourselves. I'm assuming you're here to see Ross?"

"Is it a bad time?"

"Oh no, friends of Ross' are always welcome within our museum walls," Angela responded. "He should just be in his office, which can be found in the Paleontology section in Wing C. I think he's also about to go on lunch as well so your timing's impeccable."

"Thanks Angela," Monica smiled as Phoebe and Rachel walked over to a nearby map to find Wing C.

"My pleasure," the receptionist replied before her phone rang and she turned to answer it.

"So, where are we going?" Chandler asked as the three of them joined the two girls crowded around the map.

"Um… ok so we're right here," Phoebe said, pointing at a large red arrow on the map that read 'You Are Here'.

"Thanks Pheebs, I didn't know that," Chandler rolled his eyes.

"Oh, look here's Wing C," Rachel said, finding the section as a part of the farther part of the museum. "Now how do we get there…?"

The group took a few moments to study the map, trying to use different sections to help guide them along when Monica just stepped forward and grabbed one of the paper maps that were underneath the large display one.

"You know what, why don't we just take one of these?" she suggested, smiling.

"Ah, smart. Ok, lead the way."

The group followed Monica deeper into the museum and only a few minutes into their walk, they were glad they had taken it. For an unfinished museum still in construction, it was massive, containing so many different sections ranging from ancient art to modern-day astronomy. Like the first time they were here, they actually took a few moments to acknowledge and admire the arts from around the world, though Joey and Chandler were more infatuated with the sculptures and paintings of naked women.

After a few more minutes they finally reached the Paleontology section and following a few signs, they eventually reached the department's offices. Walking down a long corridor, they finally found Ross' office at the end with the door labeled ' **Dr. Ross Geller** '. Monica motioned towards the door and gave it a gentle knock.

"Come in!" they heard Ross' voice from inside. Slowly Monica turned the doorknob and the group stepped in.

"Woah!" they all exclaimed as their first reaction.

Ross' office was much bigger than they imagined, in fact, it was huge. It made even Chandler's office look mediocre as there was even enough room for bookshelves and multiple cabinets all along the sides of the room. Ross' desk was centered near the far wall with him sitting comfortably in a large leather chair. Scott was there also, with his feet propped up on his desk as he shot a paper ball into Ross' trash can in the far corner.

"What a surprise! I didn't expect for you guys to visit me today," Ross smiled, crumbling up another piece of paper and tossing it to Scott.

"Neither did we but we realized we didn't really have anything to do," Monica responded, watching the two men toss around the ball of paper.

"Alley-opp!" Scott yelled, tossing the paper ball high up in the air for Ross to grab it and slam it down into the trash can.

Monica rolled her eyes. "You guys get paid to sit around and play basketball with paper balls?"

"Hah, I wish," Scott joked before Ross threw a paper ball at his head.

"We worked all morning. We're going on our lunch break in half an hour so we thought we'd just chill," Ross explained. "Have a seat guys and just hang out."

The girls all took a seat in front of Ross' desk beside Scott while Chandler and Joey wandered around the office, looking at the different things Ross had lying around.

"Do you still get visits from other people?" Phoebe asked, nudging Rachel nonchalantly who gave her a glare.

Ross shrugged. "Sometimes, but usually Angela takes care of them when I'm busy."

"Unless they're hot," Scott added and Ross gave him a funny look. "What?"

"Angela mentioned something about you telling her to let all the pretty girls through."

"Hey, I just thought that I might as well benefit from your fan visits also," he said, flashing a smile. Ross just rolled his eyes.

"Hey Ross, what's this?" Chandler called out. The group turned to see him and Joey standing around what looked to be a small-scale model dinosaur made out of what looked like small little bones.

"That's just… wait, Joey don't touch that," Ross said but it was too late. As soon as Joey's finger made contact with the small dinosaur structure the entire thing came crumbling down into a pile of small little fake dinosaur bones.

"Woops," Joey mouthed, covering his mouth with his hand.

Ross looked at the broken model before cracking a smile. "You know what? Don't worry about it. I didn't really want that anyways."

"Didn't Donald give that to you as a welcome gift?" Scott asked in an amusing tone.

"Yeah, but it was so fragile that if I moved it, it would have crumbled down just like that," Ross answered, motioning towards the heap of bones.

Everyone laughed as they all just hung out and got comfortable. That's when Scott noticed the map in Monica's hand and didn't hesitate to point it out.

"You guys actually needed a map to get here?" he asked teasingly.

"Are you making fun of my map?" Monica asked, playfully hitting him on the shoulder with it. "The museum's huge! We almost got lost just walking here!"

"Wait, is this the first time you guys have been to the museum?" Ross asked, genuinely curious.

"Yeah, aside from our first day in the city."

"Really? Then why don't we give you a tour of the place?" he offered. "You guys can see what I actually do when I'm working."

The group looked at each other and shrugged.

"Sure," Monica answered for them.

"Great!" Ross smiled, standing up from his seat and walking around the table. "Follow me; we'll give you a tour of our Paleontology section."

Ross and Scott led the group out of the office area and into the public part of the museum. Over the course of the next few minutes Ross and Scott led them through the maze of what was the Paleontology section, though it was Ross who did most of the talking. He made sure to keep things simple, remembering that his friends weren't as interesting in the subject as much as he was, though there were instances where he did let himself get carried away.

"…and here's one of my favourite dinosaurs," Ross said, pointing at a dinosaur with a thick skull with what appeared to be spikes sticking out from the sides. "This guy's called a _Dracorex_ , part of the Pachycephalosauridae family. It's believed to have lived around the Late Cretaceous period and-"

"You know what Ross? We don't really need to know the details," Chandler stepped in, saving everyone from a long speech.

"Right, sorry," he said, making Scott laugh. "What?"

"If I'm going to be honest Ross, whenever you start talking about dinosaurs I start zoning out," Scott revealed, bringing and amused look onto Ross' face. "I mean, I work here but I don't really care about what's in it."

Ross thought about something for a moment before he turned to his friends. "Alright, Scott's got a point; this stuff is probably boring to all of you. Why don't I show you guys some cool stuff?"

"That exists here?" Chandler joked.

Ross just smiled. "Just follow me," he said, leading them towards the back of the department.

He led them to a section of the department which was blocked off from the rest of the public and brought them to an 'Employees Only' pair of double doors. Pushing through, the doors brought them to a staircase which Ross promptly led them down to another set of double doors. Opening those with Scott, he gestured for the group to step in first and when they did, they were genuinely surprised.

"Ok, now _this_ is cool," Chandler awed, looking around.

What Ross had led them to was what appeared to be a large lab. There were large pieces of machinery and an assortment of bones and crates, such as the ones from the docs, lying around. There were even some people working and they saw what appeared to be scientists in back rooms inspecting bones and writing stuff down.

"This is our underground research lab," Ross explained, smiling at the awed looks on their faces. "Our museum is also a research center where scientists and doctors can do research on different dinosaur bones and fossils. What usually happens is we get a shipment of bones from around the world, like the ones you saw at the docks. We then bring them down here, they get inspected, researched is done, bones are filled in if needed, and if we like it we send it up to put on display."

"You know, you should have shown us this first because _this_ is actually really interesting," Monica commented.

"Yeah, it's like you got the whole Jurassic World thing going down here," Joey added, earning some laughs from the group.

"Sure, I guess you can say that," Ross said, laughing along with everyone else as he checked his watch. "Look at that, we're on break. You guys want to head to the cafeteria and get something to eat?"

"You have a cafeteria?" Joey asked in even more awe than the office and laboratory.

"Yeah, and it's great! Come on!" Scott said as it was now his turn to lead the group to their destination.

…

After reaching the cafeteria and grabbing some food from the local food franchises, the group of seven found themselves a large table to sit at and enjoy their meal.

Though it was a museum, the group of friends had to admit, they enjoyed their time at the museum. Not only did they get to see what Ross does but they also got to see a museum unlike any they've ever seen. No wonder Ross decided to move here and take the job; it was obvious this really was a chance of a life time for him in his career, though some of them had more trouble admitting that than others.

As time went by, they talked, and talked, and talked some more. They talked about work and the activities they've found themselves doing over the past week, and they also got to know Scott a little better, though at this point it felt like they've known him for years. Both he and Lauren have spent some much time with the group that they've all become comfortable around them. Both their personalities fit right into their little group and it was nice to hear some new stories from new people, though there were still some things they didn't know about them.

At some point during their lunch, Ross had gotten up to throw out some trash. As he walked back to return to his seat, Rachel happened to stand up with a glass of water in her hand at the same time. Not seeing him, when she turned around she ended up bumping into him, splashing water onto his chest.

"Oh my God! I'm so sorry Ross, I didn't see you there," she exclaimed, immediately putting the glass down.

Ross looked down at his soaked shirt and looked back at her. "It's alright Rach, I should have watched where I was going…"

He trailed off when off instinct Rachel began rubbing his shirt to try to dry it off. She didn't even realize what she had done until she noticed him go quiet, and when she did her eyes immediately shot open as she took a step back, her face flushing with a deep shade of red.

"I'm sorry. I…"

Now it was her turn to trail off as she also realized he was wearing a white shirt, making the soaked area become see-through. Out of their time spent in the city so far, none of them had seen Ross with his shirt off yet. Even at the beach, he'd always worn a shirt of some kind and some of them, particularly her and Phoebe, were curious to see what was underneath. Now that his shirt had become see-through, it gave her a small glimpse at his toned muscles underneath and as soon as her mind figured that out, she couldn't help but stare at his abs, blushing even harder than before.

It took Ross a moment to respond. He noticed her staring at his exposed abdomen and looked down as well, rubbing it a little himself as he let out a soft chuckle.

"Don't worry about it Rachel. I have a spare shirt in my office," he said, snapping her out of her trance.

"O-ok," she stammered, still blushing hard as she shyly looked down at the ground to avoid his gaze. She quickly and quietly took her glass of water and went to do what she was going to do before bumping into him.

"Hey guys, I need to head over to my office to get changed," Ross said. They all nodded, haven seen what happened and all of them partly smiled at his and Rachel's cute little interaction. He nodded back before walking away and disappearing into a hallway.

Just then a muffled sound came from the table and everyone looked to Scott who unhooked the walkie-talkie from his belt and held it up to his mouth.

"Sorry, I didn't hear you. Could you repeat that?" he asked, holding and releasing the button on the side of the walkie-talkie after talking.

" _We need you over at the docks. A new shipment has just arrived and we need you to take inventory._ "

Scott held the button again. "Sure, no problem. I'll be right over." He turned to the others as Rachel returned back to the table. "Looks like my lunch break just ended as well. I'll see all you later."

A chorus of 'bye Scott' ran through the group and he gave them all a nonchalant salute before leaving. The group started cleaning up their table as they all stood up.

"So, what now?" Phoebe asked as they threw out their trash.

"Well, we could still hang out around here and check out the museum some more," Monica suggested. "Or we could head home, get dressed, and hit the beach."

The five of them looked at each other as an unspoken decision passed through all of them.

"Beach," they all said in unison.

"I guess we should go see Ross and saw bye before we go then," Monica said as she started leading them back to his office.

"Yeah, but someone has already seen a little more of him than we did," Phoebe mentioned, nudging Rachel on the arm.

"Stop it Pheebs, it was an accident," Rachel responded, though a slight blush appeared on her face.

"Sure it was," she replied, making her roll her eyes.

After another trek through the museum, they reached his office once again. Monica turned the doorknob and walked in.

"Hey Ross, we're going to-"

"Hey, woah! What happened to knocking?" he asked, spinning around with his shirt in hand and his entire torso exposed.

The group froze as they stared at his bare chest, though some were more attentive than others. Like the rest of his body his entire torso was full of muscle with large pecks and a toned six-pack below. However what made them freeze wasn't the muscle tone, but rather a large scar that ran from the top of his right peck to the middle of his chest.

Monica was the first to start talking as she moved closer to her brother. "Oh my God, Ross, what happened?" she asked, her voice filled with concern.

"It's nothing," Ross answered almost immediately, quickly slipping on his shirt that covered up his scar. "I just fell a while ago."

"Onto a spike?" Chandler questioned, also as worried.

"No, I just… fell. It's nothing ok?" He looked around and grabbed his jacket, slipping that on too. "What did you guys want to say?"

Still a little flustered at the large scar on her brother's chest, Monica stuttered a little. "Um… uh, w-we were just here to say that we're going to head back home."

"That's fine, thanks for coming. I should start getting back to work as well," Ross said quickly, starting to head out of his office. "I'll see all you later."

They all gave him soft goodbyes as he passed by their worried looks, none more worried than Rachel who had an extremely troubled look on her face. Ross ignored all of them, passing them all by before leaving his office and disappearing down the hallway.

"Holy crap!" Phoebe exclaimed some time after he disappeared.

"I know! Did you see the size of that scar?" Joey asked.

"How could you _not_ see it?" Chandler reiterated.

"There's no way that could have just been some _fall_ ," Phoebe pointed out as everyone nodded.

"Yeah…" Monica said, touching her chin as she thought.

"There's something he's not telling us…"

…

 **Author's Note: I'm glad to hear that this story's keeping you on your toes. It's supposed to be suspenseful so happy to hear I've portrayed that right.**

 **So to save a lot of you some time from searching up what** _ **Celex**_ **a is, it's supposed to be a strong anti-depressant that can only be prescribed by a doctor. I don't really know that 100% though since I've never needed to receive a prescription for** _ **Celexa**_ **, but pretty much if you haven't ciphered it, Ross suffers from depression. I hope I'm not offending anyone by having this in the story since I know it can kind of be a touchy topic so I'm trying my best not to falsely portray it. It's also not supposed to be the main problem for the story so I hope nobody's going to have an issue with it.**

 **Thanks again and I'll see you all next time.**


	9. Chapter 9

**Chapter 9**

It was early in the morning when the door to the small coffee house chimed open and a group of people walked in. Hearing them enter, the woman at the counter looked up and smiled when she saw the group of six wander in; five of them looking around with interest and curiosity while the man in the approached the counter with a smile.

"Oh hey! This is a surprise!" she greeted, walking around the counter.

"Morning Morgan," Ross replied, greeting her with a kiss on the cheek. "I thought we'd swing by today so I could show the guys the place."

"Oh? Well that's great!" Morgan smiled, turning to the rest of the group. "Welcome to _Morning Covfefe_ , where we serve the best _covfefe_ around the city!"

"Haha, thanks Morgan, the place looks great!" Monica said, tapping the hard wood of a nearby table.

"Yeah, it's very homey," Phoebe added, poking at a hanging decoration.

"You design it yourself?" Chandler asked.

Morgan smiled. "Thank you, and no, not all of it. Stephen and Alexa helped me with the furniture and decorations."

"Well it looks great," Monica said.

"Hey, where's Carla? Is she not working today?" Ross asked as he looked around for the other waitress.

"No, I decided to give her the week off. She's been having headaches again."

"You've been holding down the fort by yourself all week?"

"Yeah, but it's not that bad," Morgan said, shrugging. "It's been pretty easy today."

She motioned towards the only other people in the coffee house: an older couple sitting in the corner near the windowsill. Ross waved to them, recognizing them as some of the regulars and they waved back.

"Please, everyone have a seat. Make yourselves at home," she said, gesturing for them to sit down. The group walked over and took a seat on two green couches surrounding a glass coffee table, reminding them a little of Central Perk.

"So you run this place all by yourself?" Rachel asked after everyone was settled down.

"Yup," she answered cheerfully. "It pays to be your own boss."

"You know, Rachel used to be a waitress," Chandler pointed out and she immediately swung around and gave him a glare.

"Really?" Morgan asked, now interested. "How was that?"

Rachel cleared her throat. "Um, it was alright but it wasn't for me though," she replied, making sure to chose her words carefully as to not offend her. She wasn't too proud of that period in her life but Morgan seems to enjoy it so she wasn't about to tell her off.

"Well that's still quite respectable. Most people look down on us waitresses," Morgan said and she nodded simply. "Anyways, so what can I get all of you?"

"Some coffee for all of us would be great," Ross replied and she wrote it down on a little notepad.

"No problem, anything else?"

"Do you have anything to eat?" Joey asked, rubbing his stomach.

"I've got some bagels and muffins ready if you'd like. Why don't I throw in some of those?" she offered, writing those down too.

"Cool, so how much will that be?" Chandler asked, beginning to pull out his wallet when she stopped him with a hand on his shoulder.

"Don't worry about it. It's on the house," she smiled.

"Are you sure? We can pay if you'd like," Chandler said, looking at the others.

"No, please, my treat," Morgan insisted.

"Thanks Morgan, you're the best," Ross said and she gave him a playful wink before heading back to the counter.

As the six of them settled back down, enjoying the relaxing atmosphere of the coffee house and making small talk with each other, suddenly the front door chimed open again, this time a different group of people entering which they all recognized.

"Hey, would you look at that? Looks like we've got a party in here," Nate joked as he approached the couch area, with Henry, Stephen, Alexa, and Lauren following.

"So, Ross finally decided to show his friends the coffee house," Henry said with a smile, giving him a handshake.

"Hey guys, hope you're all enjoying yourselves," Stephen greeted as he and Alexa pulled up a few chairs.

"We are, and the coffee house is great. It's like the one back home, only better," Chandler answered, scooting over with Joey to make some room for the other guys.

As everyone got resettled and re-acquainted with each other, Lauren was the only one left standing as she kind of hovered around where Ross was sitting on the couch.

"Hey there little one, you want a seat?" Ross asked playfully, beginning to stand up and offer up his own.

Lauren smiled but shook her head. "No that's alright. I'll just sit here," she said, sitting on the arm rest.

"No way, come here," he said, pulling her down onto his lap. She giggled as she readjusted on his leg and the two shared a laugh, something Rachel noticed in the corner of her eye and she couldn't help but frown.

At that moment Morgan returned with their orders and was surprised to see the rest of her friends there also.

"Woah, where did all of you guys come from?" she asked, placing the tray of food and beverages on the counter.

"We all just appeared out of thin air," Nate joked, dazzling his hands as if he had just performed a magic trick.

"Well not all of you I see," she pointed out. "Where's Scott?"

"He's sick," Lauren answered. "He woke up with the flu so he's taking the day off."

"Damn, that sucks," Morgan frowned. "Well I guess now that you're all here, what am I getting all of you?"

"Just the usual for us would be great Morgan," Alexa said, motioning at herself and Stephen.

"Usual for me too please," Lauren asked sweetly, earning a playful nudge from Ross.

"Count me in on that also," Nate added.

Morgan nodded her head before turning to Henry. "And what about you? You just getting the norm too?"

"Nah, I think I'll get one of your morning specials," Henry answered, sitting back with his feet up on the table.

She raised an eyebrow. "Are you joking? That takes me ten minutes to make. Do you really want to order that or are you just messing with me?"

"Nah, I'm just messing with you."

"Then I'm just getting you a coffee," she said, writing it down. "Bastard…" she muttered as she turned around.

"What was that?"

"Nothing," she smiled, starting to walk away but not before Henry flipped her off.

"So, how are all of you?" Alexa asked, turning to the group. "We haven't seen you all since the party. What have you all been up to recently?"

"Nothing much. We've mostly just been relaxing and hanging out," Monica answered.

"And hitting the beach," Joey added.

"Yeah, don't forget the beach. We _love_ the beach," Chandler continued.

"Hell yeah man," Nate approved, fisting bumping both of them. "We were thinking of heading their later today."

"You guys should join us," Henry offered and Chandler and Joey looked at each other, nodding in agreement.

"Sure, we're down."

Stephen rolled his eyes. "Great, I see it now; the four stooges, walking along the beach and hitting on every girl in sight." The group snickered at his remark.

"Shut up man, you're married," Henry countered, giving him a friendly shove and he laughed.

"So ladies, what's the plan for you now that the boys have their double dates?" Alexa asked just as Morgan returned, handing out everyone's drinks before taking a seat.

Monica looked at the other two and shrugged. "We're not sure. We don't really have anything planned."

"Well hey, if you don't have anything planned, I've been meaning to ask," Morgan said, entering the conversation as she turned to Monica. "You're a chef right?"

Monica nodded, unsure as to why she was asking.

"How would you like to help me out here? I've been looking for an extra pair of hands to help me in the kitchen."

"You want me to help make food?" she clarified, her voice full of excitement.

"Yeah, I mean, I guess it's not what you're normally used to but you can help make pastries and other stuff. I can pay you too if you want," Morgan offered.

"Are you kidding? I'll work for free!" Monica exclaimed, jumping up. "Can I get one of those apron things too?"

"Sure," Morgan laughed, standing up as well.

"Ooh! Ooh! I want to help too!" Phoebe exclaimed, waving her hands.

"You can cook too?" Morgan asked.

"No… but, oh, I can play the guitar like I do at the coffee house at home!"

"That would be great Phoebe, but unfortunately I don't have a guitar or any equipment here," Morgan explained in a sad tone.

"Oh…"

"Wait, did you say you can play the guitar?" Alexa asked.

"Well, I know almost all the chords," she answered.

"That's good enough. How would you like to join me today?" Alexa offered. "I teach at a local elementary school and I've been looking for someone to come in and introduce the kids to music."

"Oh, that's great! I'll teach them my _Smelly Cat_ song!"

Chandler rolled his eyes. "Alexa's going to have her hands full with that one," he murmured.

While everyone was still talking, suddenly the sound of a beeper going off was heard and everyone turned to Ross who had to reach into his pocket to turn it off.

"That must be the museum. I should probably get going," he said, finishing his coffee as Lauren got off his lap to let him stand.

"Hey, um, do you mind if I tag along?" Lauren asked shyly, watching him as he rose to his feet. "I kind of want to talk to you about something later."

"Sure, but don't you have to work?"

She shook her head. "No, I took the day off today."

"Well in that case, I could use the company," he said with a smile as she smiled back in return. "After all, I guess if one Hughes can't pester me all day then another one has to."

Lauren giggled before the two of them said their goodbyes to the group and left. As they walked towards the entrance, Rachel couldn't help but follow them with her eyes, still feeling a pang of jealousy despite not wanting to. A part of her wished she had the courage to ask to spend that kind of time with him. She had still yet to do the very thing she came here to do; tell him her true feelings and win him back, but until she knew what he was thinking she didn't dare make a move.

Even after Ross and Lauren had left, she continued to stare at the front entrance, lost in her thoughts. She heard someone say her name behind her but she was too focused to listen to hear what they had said. It was only due to a light tap on her shoulder that pulled her from her trance and she quickly spun around to see Monica looking at her.

"Sorry, what was that?" she asked, hoping no one noticed her staring.

"I said what are you going to do today?" Monica asked again.

"Oh, um… I'm not sure…"

As she responded, everyone looked to Stephen who was drinking his coffee and raised an eyebrow when he noticed everyone's looks.

"What? Unless she wants to sit in a bunch of meetings with me today, she's probably better off doing nothing than coming with me," he answered simply, returning to his coffee.

"You know, I think I'll just hang around here for a bit," Rachel said and Monica shrugged.

"Suit yourself."

After that was settled, everyone returned to their conversation with each other, though Rachel just wasn't that into it. As she picked up her own drink and took a sip, she turned to look at the door again, now wishing she had gone along with him today.

…

It was late in the afternoon when Rachel returned back to the house, and after paying the taxi driver her fee, she slowly made her way up the stairs to the front door. She was alone, though that wasn't really something new to her.

After spending a few hours with Monica and Morgan at the coffee house, she eventually decided that she needed to get away from all the coffee and the serving as it reminded her too much of her waitressing days, so she had grabbed the spare key from Monica and headed out.

The next few hours mainly consisted of her just walking aimlessly around the city. Of course, she had tried to get a hold of someone else, but everyone else was busy, Lauren didn't answer her phone and she didn't bother calling Scott since she remembered he was sick today, so instead she ended up just walking around by herself. It was nice though, and the weather was great, but that can only take you so far when you're by yourself and eventually she had gotten tired and decided to just head back home.

Now in the present, Rachel approached the front door, removing the key from her pocket and inserting it in the keyhole. However when she turned it, she realised she had actually just locked it and was surprised to find the door already unlocked before she had gotten there. Not seeing any cars out in the driveway, she wondered who was already in the house and cautiously entered quietly.

"Ross, please, I don't understand!"

Rachel froze at the sound of the distressed, begging voice, and spun around to see what was going on. To her surprise, she spotted Ross and Lauren standing in the living room, tears streaking down Lauren's face while Ross looked equally as distraught.

Unsure of what had happened, she looked on.

"Ross, I love you so much," Lauren blurt out, stumbling forward to close the distance between them. "Please, why can't you give us a chance?"

Rachel's eyes immediately widened. "Oh my God!" she gasped quietly, covering her mouth as she backed up slightly. She couldn't believe she had just walked in on them during such an intense moment. Luckily they haven't seen her yet, and she preferred it to remain that way, so she quietly ducked down beneath the counter, peeking slightly from above and watching the scene unfold with an attentive eye.

"Lauren…" Ross started, rubbing his forehead. "I just don't think it's a good idea for us to get together…"

"But why?" she asked, her voice cracking from her crying. "Why, Ross? Is… is there something wrong with me?"

"No, no of course not. Lauren, you're beautiful. You're smart, you're funny, you're adorable, and you have a huge heart. There's absolutely nothing wrong with you," he reasoned softly and she looked to the ground, tears streaming down her face. He gently took her small hands in his, wiping away some of those tears with the pad of his thumb. "Sweetie, please don't cry. It kills me to see you like this."

"I… I..." she stuttered, catching her breath. "… I can't keep living like this. I love you so much, Ross. N-never has anyone cared for me… and… and… been so kind to me like you. I-I just don't understand why we can't be together."

As she watched and heard Lauren's confession, even she was sympathetic towards her. Here was a girl, laying out her heart for him, and though they were chasing after the same man, she gained a newfound respect for her strength and courage.

"Lauren, I'm so sorry," Ross expressed softly, staring into her watery eyes. "I'm just not in the right place right now."

Lauren nodded slowly and sadly, obviously having a hard time controlling herself as her tears didn't stop falling. She was breaking down on the inside, and it was shown all over her face just how much this all hurt.

"Oh Lauren…"

Gently he caressed Lauren's cheek, wiping away a few tears before slowly leaning in and placing a soft, long kiss on her lips. She reacted at first but slowly readjusted, wrapping her arm around his neck and kissing him back as her tears still trickled down her cheek.

Form Rachel's perspective, the kiss had caught her completely off guard and made her breath get caught in her throat. Did Ross change his mind or was this only a sympathy kiss? She carefully watched on as their long kiss ended and Ross pulled back, wiping more tears from Lauren's face.

"I love you Lauren," Ross whispered, his voice full of sincerity as he caressed her cheek. "I really do… but…"

"…but not in the same way I love you," she finished for him slowly, looking up into his eyes. He nodded sadly.

"I'm so sorry."

"I know," she said, before slowly walking into his arms and hugging him tightly. He hugged her back and the two remained holding each other for a while. "Can I ask you something?"

"Anything," he replied sweetly.

"Do you love Rachel?" Lauren asked, letting go slightly so she could look at him. Meanwhile Rachel was surprised to hear her name and she felt her heartbeat fasten as she looked on with interest.

"Why do you think that?"

"Because I've seen the way you look at her, and the way she looks at you."

Ross sighed. "You know I never want to lie to you Lauren… and the truth is… yes, I do love Rachel, but things are… complicated between us."

Rachel had to cover her mouth to hold her shock as now small tears were appearing in her own eyes. He loves her. This was what she had been waiting for; confirmation that he still feels something for her, and now she knows he does. Now she could finally tell him about her own true feelings. She just needed the right opportunity.

"Did you two used to date?" Lauren asked.

"Yes."

"So she was the girl you dated for a year," she concluded, hints of shock in her voice.

"How did you know that?" Ross asked.

"She told me."

"Hmmm…"

At that moment, Rachel realized that their moment was about to end and she was bound to be discovered if she didn't do anything. Quickly she wiped away the few tears she had in her eyes and stood back up, turning to open the front door and closing it again, this time a little harder as to pretend she had just gotten home. Her trick seemed to work as both Ross and Lauren heard the door shut and they both turned to see her standing in the entrance.

"Oh, hey Rachel, we didn't hear you come in," Ross said, gently letting go of Lauren as he approached her.

"Oh, well I just got back," Rachel lied, turning to Lauren who was drying her eyes with a tissue. "My God, what happened?"

Ross and Lauren looked at each other before he turned back. "We just finished watching a sad movie."

"Ah, I see," she nodded, knowing very well that was a lie.

For a moment nobody said anything as a quiet, almost awkward silence went through the three of them.

"Are the others with you too?" Ross asked, breaking the silence.

"No, just me. They're all still off doing their own things."

"Hmm, ok. I was thinking tonight I'd take you guys out for dinner at a restaurant downtown," he said.

"That would be great," Rachel said, smiling slightly.

"Cool." Ross turned to Lauren who had just finished drying her tears. "Lauren, do you want to come too?"

"No, that's alright," she politely declined and Ross frowned slightly. "I should probably head back home and see how Scott is doing."

"Oh, that's right," he said. "Well at least let me give you a ride back."

"That's ok, I'll just call a taxi," Lauren responded, beginning to walk over to the cell phone but Ross stopped her.

"Please? I insist," he said, looking at her with soft eyes. She gave in and gave a weak smile.

"Ok."

Ross managed a small smile as well as he led her to the front door. "I'll be back soon Rach," he said to her and she nodded.

"Ok."

She watched them leave together and as soon as the door shut behind them, she immediately walked over to her bags. Digging around, she found the blue velvet box and opened it, smiling when she saw the ring again knowing this time, there was true purpose now instead of the false hope she had held before.

"Soon…" she whispered. "Soon…"

…

"Man, hanging out with Nate and Henry was awesome!"

"I know right! Those guys are so much fun to be around!" Chandler agreed, giving Joey and high-five.

"Yeah, well you know, Morgan's pretty awesome too. She let me test on some new pastries in the kitchen and we ended up selling quite a bit of them," Monica bragged.

"What about you Pheebs? How was playing the guitar for those kids?" Chandler asked.

"Oh, it was great!" she exclaimed. "Yeah, the kids loved it and so did Alexa!"

"Um, are you sure she just wasn't being polite?" Joey questioned.

"No, she actually did like it! She even wants me to come back next week to play for everyone again."

"Alright guys, enough bragging. We're here," Ross announced as he led the group towards the small Italian restaurant.

He was glad that his friends had bonded so well with the friends he made here in San Diego, though he couldn't quite focus on all their stories since he was still a little shaken from his earlier talk with Lauren. It had been so sudden and out of the blue, though that's usually how she operates, but what had really gotten to him was just how much she had revealed. He knew she had held feelings for him for a while now but he had no idea they had been that strong to the point where she was breaking down in front of him. Turning her down this time had made him feel so guilty and sorrowful, but he just couldn't bring himself to enter into a relationship with her and risk hurting her. He truly did love her, but he loved her as a sister, and if he let himself hurt her in any way, he would never forgive himself.

That also led to the other reason why they couldn't be together: Rachel. A small part of him was glad he finally revealed to someone about these feelings he had hidden for this past year, though it was still hard for him to say that he still loves her. Then when she had walked in, he had worried she had overheard some of their conversation but luckily it didn't seem like she had heard anything. The last thing he wanted was for her to know about his true feelings towards her; for his sake, and for hers.

Back in the present, as Ross approached the restaurant doors he was immediately greeted by the restaurant manager who came out just to welcome them.

"Ross, my friend, it's great to see you!" the short, Italian man exclaimed, embracing him.

"How are you Francesco?" Ross smiled. "It looks like it's pretty busy tonight. I hope you have room for six."

"For you, my favourite customer? Always. Please, all of you, follow me," Francesco said, gesturing for them to follow him as he entered the restaurant.

Ross chuckled softly at his friend's openness towards everyone and decided to let everyone else in first as he held the door open with a smile. However, just as Rachel, Monica, and Joey entered Ross spotted someone down the street; a man wearing a black trench coat and a dark hat, standing at the edge of an alleyway with his face concealed in his clothing. His smile immediately disappeared and he cleared his throat.

"Hey guys, sorry, I'll be right back," he said suddenly to the other, letting go of the door.

"Um, sure," Chandler said in questioning tone, taking the mantle of being the door holder.

"Who's that?" Phoebe asked, following Ross' eyes to the strange man waiting across the street.

"Someone from work," Ross replied quickly. "Go ahead without me, I'll be with you in a second."

"Uh, alright," Chandler shrugged as he and Phoebe walked into the restaurant.

Waiting until all his friends have gone in, Ross looked around him to make sure no one was watching before he quickly made his way down the street. Walking with his head down and trying to blend in, when the strange man saw him approaching, he silently motioned towards the alleyway with his head and Ross nodded, and the two of them entered into the shadows between the two buildings.

"Thanks for coming. Sorry for the late notice," Ross said quietly as soon as he was sure no one was around them.

"No problem Ross, anything for an old friend," the man responded. "You got the money?"

"Of course," he answered, reaching into his coat pocket and pulling out a one-hundred dollar bill. "Here."

The man took the bill, stretching it out with a few tugs before tucking it into his own pocket. He then opened up his trench coat and reached into his inside pocket, removing two pill bottles and handing them to Ross.

"Thanks," he said, accepting both of them as he quickly slipped one into his own inside pocket. With the other, however, he swiftly cracked it open, pulling out one of the small white tablets and swallowing it down. In turn, the man raised an eyebrow.

"Listen Ross, I know I'm your dealer but go easy on those, huh?" the man cautioned, watching him put away the second bottle. "You've been running through these faster than usual. How many of those are you taking a day?"

"Three, sometimes four."

"That's a lot Ross, I'd watch it. That shit can fuck you up if you're not careful."

"Yeah, I got it. Thanks anyways Bernard," Ross muttered, beginning to turn away.

"Hey, one more thing," Bernard mentioned and Ross turned towards him.

"Yeah?"

"Watch your back man. He knows you have it."

At that, Ross' eyebrow immediately furrowed and his face remained expressionless. "What?"

Bernard crossed his arms. "The case. Enrico knows Scott gave it to you."

"I don't know what you're talking about," Ross said blankly.

He raised his arms. "Alright, whatever you say." Bernard lowered them and gave him a serious look. "Just watch yourself, yeah? I don't want what happened to George to happen to you."

Still with his deadpanned look, Ross simply zipped up his coat and turned around.

"Take care Bernard," he said simply before exciting the alleyway.

Minutes later Ross returned to the restaurant, looking around and finding his group of fiends all waiting for him. He immediately went over to them, carefully taking off his coat before sitting down and opening up the menu in front of him.

"So, what did the guy want?" Chandler asked, noticing his silence.

"Hmm?" Ross perked. "Nothing, he just came to give me my paycheck."

That seemed to answer his question as he returned to look at the menu and the others talked about what they were going to order. For him, however, his mind was now thinking about what Bernard had said and he knew it'd be stuck with him for the rest of the night.

 _He knows you have it._

Shit…

…

 **Author's Note: Sorry, the beginning's kind of slow but it's really just supposed to set up the rest of the chapter. Hope you enjoyed nonetheless and you'll all for sure enjoy the next chapter when stuff really begins to go down.**

 **Side note; not sure if all of you watch football but I want to congratulate the Eagles for winning the Super Bowl, finally dethroning Brady and the Patriots. Enjoy your win Eagles fans, because next year, Miami's taking that trophy home instead. :P**


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Another day in sunny-side San Diego, another pleasant day at the beach for the group of visiting New Yorkers. Today, however, the group had company with them as Ross had decided to take the day off work. It's been a little hectic for him for the past few days as work had started to pick-up among other things he preferred to keep to himself, so he thought a day at the beach to recuperate and clear his mind could do well for him.

Little did he know that today would change everything, for him, and his friends.

It was later in the evening when the sky started to darken and the sun began to set behind the horizon. The group of friends were headed back to the car following a long day spent at the beach. It was generally quieter as they approached the parking lot as the majority of the beach-goers had already left, leaving only a few stranglers, including them, behind.

"So, are we watching _Die Hard_ once we get back?" Chandler asked as his sandals hit the concrete.

The three girls all whined and groaned in unison. "No, come on. We always watch _Die Hard_."

"Are you kidding? All we've been watching for the past few days are your little chick-flicks!" he countered.

"Yeah! Can't we watch something that _we_ want to watch?" Joey added, also not wanting to watch another one of the girls' movies.

"Ugh, fine, fine! We'll watch your stupid _Die Hard_ ," Monica finally yielded, not wanting to be pestered all the way back home.

"Yes!" the two of them exclaimed, giving each other fist bumps as everyone else rolled their eyes.

As they approached the black car, Ross pulled out his keys from his pocket and pressed a button to unlock the doors. Heading to the trunk, the group followed him as he swung the door open and turned to give them all a hand with their things.

It was only a few moments in, after he had lifted their cooler into the car trunk, when he noticed something in the corner of his eye. Slowly turning, he immediately spotted four men, quietly lurking in the shadows of a nearby building as they stared at him from their distance. Ross immediately frowned and his eyebrows furrowed; he did not need this right now.

Turning back to his group of friends, Ross realised things would only get worse if those men came over here and he knew he had to deal with them before the others noticed.

"Hey, I'll be right back," he mumbled, seeing that everyone was busy loading their things into his car. Using this distraction, Ross quickly slipped from their notice and headed for the group of men, who disappeared further into the alleyway.

A few moments later Monica slammed the trunk door shut, clapping her hands as she looked at the group proudly.

"Alright, everything's packed! Let's go home!"

"Cool."

One by one, they all looked at each other, noticing that one of them was missing and not soon after, they realised Ross had disappeared from the group.

"Where did Ross go?" Phoebe asked, looking around.

"I heard him say he'd be right back, but I didn't see where he went," Chandler replied, scratching his head as he scanned the area as well.

"I think I saw him go that way," Joey spoke up, pointing towards the nearby building.

"Why would he go there?"

He shrugged. "Maybe he needed to take a leak or something."

"Well he should have been back by now so let's go get him," Monica said, leading them to the direction of the building.

When they approached the front of the building, however, the group stared at it in confusion as the doors were locked. They began looking around again, confused as to where Ross had gone, when Monica heard something that got her attention.

"Wait, you guys hear that?" she asked, hearing what seemed like angry voices nearby.

The rest of the group nodded, turning to where the sound was coming from; a dark alleyway next to the building they stood in front of. Slowly they began walking towards the voices and as soon as they turned the corner, they spotted Ross speaking with four strange men they've never seen before, except one.

"Oh my God!" Rachel gasped, pulling her friends back around the corner. "I know those guys."

"From where?" Monica asked, peering back around.

She quickly peeked around the corner again to confirm her acknowledgement before turning back and nodding to her friends. "Yeah, I know three of those guys. Ross and I ran into them on one of our morning jogs. I don't know who they are but I think one of them is named Blaine."

"They look like they're not people to mess with," Joey commented, taking a peak himself.

"They're not, and they seem to hold a grudge against Ross but I don't know why."

Quietly the five of them poked their heads around the corner to get a look at the four men talking angrily with Ross. Sure enough, Rachel recognized Blaine as the man with the golden tooth, but her main focus was on the man closest to Ross; tall, large, and far more intimidating than the other three she's met.

"Who do you think that guy is?" Phoebe asked, pointing out the guy Rachel was staring at.

"I don't know, but it looks like he's the leader of that little gang," Chandler guessed.

"Shh!" Monica shushed, waving them off with her hand. "I'm trying to hear what they're saying."

A couple seconds went by with no one saying anything, trying their best to listen in on what the four men were saying to Ross. To the rest of them, all they heard were muffled voices but Monica, who was the closest, seemed to be really focused on listening.

"What are you hearing?" Chandler asked after a few more seconds.

"I don't know, just bits and pieces," Monica answered, turning around. "I heard something about 'deals' and the word 'betrayal' came up a few times."

The group's eyes widened, unsure of what those words were supposed to mean but it was clear there was something going on that they didn't know about. Quickly they all turned and began to lean father around the corner to hear what was happening.

"Hey!"

"Crap, they saw us!" Monica exclaimed, looking at the group with a scared look. Slowly the five of them showed themselves, walking into the alleyway where the four men now had their attention on them.

"Who the hell are you?" one of the men asked.

When Ross turned to see who had interrupted them, his eyes immediately widened when he saw his friends standing at the mouth of the alleyway.

"You guys followed me?!" Ross asked forcefully.

"Oh, you know these people?" the man in the front questioned, grinning with his teeth as he started to approach the group. Before he took a step, however, Ross stepped in front of him, giving him a cold stare.

"I don't think so…" Ross growled, standing between the group of men and his group of friends. "We're done talking. I didn't take your case so you better back off Enrico."

Silence echoed through the alleyway as the two men stared at each other for a moment. However once Ross saw that Enrico wasn't making any move, he slowly turned around, walking towards his friends with a furious look.

"Get in the car," he snarled, leading them back onto the streets and towards the beach parking lot. The five of them obliged, following him without a word as they had no idea of what was going on and frankly, they were a little terrified.

Only a few moments later, the group returned to the parking lot and Ross immediately got into the driver's seat of the car. The rest of the group quickly followed as he started the engine up, the machine roaring to life.

"Ok, what's going on?" Monica finally asked, sitting up front as she buckled up her seatbelt.

"Nothing!" Ross responded, though it was almost like a yell, and at the same moment he swiftly pulled the car from the parking spot, stepping on the gas as he picked up speed. His sudden movement caught everyone off guard and they held onto something as Ross sped down the road at an abnormal pace.

Minutes went by on the road and no one said a thing, all of them seeing how tense Ross was up in the driver's seat and knowing that now was not the time to ask questions.

Meanwhile Ross, who was fuming on the inside from his conversation with the four men, at that moment took a glance into his rear view mirror and noticed a small black car following him close behind. He grit, turning at the next intersection, and sure enough a moment later the black car made the same turn.

"Fuck!" he yelled, slamming the top of the steering wheel.

"What?" Monica asked, a little frightened as she's never seen her brother act this way before.

"We're being followed," he said through clenched teeth.

As his friends looked back, Ross knew he had to put an end to this now. As long as they were being followed, they couldn't return home as there was no way in hell he was going to show them where he lived. He also knew he couldn't shake them off through the streets since it was San Diego, where traffic could be found on every other street. With only one option left, Ross quietly swore to himself before pulling into an alleyway to the side, driving in a little deeper before stopping the car.

"What are you doing?" Monica asked in a frightened tone, seeing the black car follow them into the alleyway and stopping a few feet away from them.

Ross didn't respond at first, instead reaching over to the glove compartment in front of his sister and opening it. He then swiftly removed an object the size of his hand, though Monica wasn't able to get a good look at it before he slipped it into his pocket, shutting the glove compartment before turning to them.

" **Stay in the car** ," he warned, almost in a threatening voice, scanning over all of them with a pair of deadpanned eyes before turning back around to open his door.

Stepping out, he made sure to lock the car from the inside before turning to the black car, watching the four doors open and the four men step out as well.

"So, you finally decided to stop running," Enrico said, grinning wickedly.

"I wasn't running. I told you to back off because I don't have any of your shit," Ross replied forcefully, taking a few steps away from his car. He needed to take the attention away from his friends inside and his move seemed to work as the four men were focused on him as he led their eyes away.

At his response, Enrico's grin disappeared, now replaced by an unamused frown. He took a few steps towards him, rolling up his sleeves and revealing the dark tattoos that ran across his arms. With Blaine and his other two henchmen flanked on both his sides, he slowly began to pace around with his hands behind his back. At the same time, Ross reached for the item from the glove compartment he had slipped into his pocket, keeping his hand there as he stayed on alert.

"Ross, do you know what my name means?" Enrico asked, earning no response except a fixed stare. " _Enrico_ … it's a name given to powerful people because in Spanish it means ruler of the house. Do you understand?"

"What's your point?" Ross asked through clenched teeth.

"My point? You see Ross, this city, is my house. And I, my friend, am this city's ruler," he self proclaimed, stepping closer. "When something happens in my house, I know about it. When someone takes something of mine, I know about it. So tell me, where is my case?"

"I don't have it," Ross spat, taking a few steps to his right, closer to the other black car.

"Bullshit you don't have it!" Enrico snapped, pacing towards him. "I know that weasel Scott stole it after you ratted out my gang members and gave it to you for safe keeping. You can be sure I'll be getting to him sooner than later, but before then, you better fucking hand it over."

Ross tensed up his body, balling his hands in a fist. "You aren't getting shit from me."

The next thing he knew, Ross was struck by fast, hard punch that connected with his left eye, the rings on Enrico's fingers striking the area around his eye as he took a step back slightly. He brought a hand to his eye and looked at it, seeing blood now on his fingers as he turned to stare at Enrico with a dirty look.

"You're lucky I won't kill you right now," Enrico threatened, pulling up his shirt slightly to reveal his gun and further proclaiming his dominance. Ross didn't buy it though and kept his eyes fixated on him.

"Why don't you then?" he challenged, standing face-to-face against him.

Enrico began to snicker, pointing at him as he looked to Blaine, who was snickering as well.

"Look at that. He's got some balls to challenge me like that."

Blaine shrugged, crossing his arms with a grin. "I think he's still got less than when we first met him."

Enrico chuckled sadistically before turning back to Ross. "Let me tell you something Ross, I can kill you at any time I want. Hell, I would have killed you the moment you stabbed me in the back, but your name's too big on the streets for me to take you out without proper reason," he said, forcefully poking him in the chest. "But I can assure you, if you don't return what belongs to me, I'll be sure to take you out the first chance I get."

Ross' face remained expressionless as he leaned in closer, almost to the point where they were touching noses as he whispered two words.

" **Fuck** **off**."

The moment right after, the sound of Enrico's fist cracking across his jaw sounded through the alleyway as Ross stumbled back slightly from the unexpected blow. He felt the side he was struck and immediately a sharp pain shot through his jaw as he stared daggers at his attacker.

"There's more where that came from," Enrico taunted, rolling his sleeves higher as if he expected him to fight back.

"I'm not going to waste my time playing around with you," he shot, spitting out some blood from his mouth as he felt his jaw, also at that moment secretly reaching for the item in his pocket again.

"Is that so? Well then maybe I'll give Scott a little visit and see if he wants to _play_. I hear he's also got a sister; a pretty one at that. Let's see if she'll like it once I-"

Enrico was cut off by Ross shoving him against the black car, pinning him there with the hand knife he had pulled from his pocket. At the same time, Blaine and the two other men immediately pulled out their guns, aiming them at Ross' head.

Everything came to a standstill for a few moments as it was almost a 'who will make the first move' moment. Ross didn't need to look over his shoulder to know he had guns to his head, and that one wrong move could result in his brains being splattered everywhere, but he felt confident enough to know that he was the one in control in this situation.

"Lower the guns or head honcho loses his head."

Another moment went by in silence as Ross and Enrico stared daggers at each other until finally Enrico looked to his goons and waved for them to stand down. They did as they were told and Ross heard their guns returning to their holsters and knew the ball was in his court now.

"If you go anywhere _near_ Scott or his sister, _I_ will be sure that this knife finds its way into your neck," Ross threatened, raising the knife slightly higher, making Enrico tilt his head to avoid making contact with the sharp metal until he finally loosened his grip and removed the knife.

As Enrico rubbed his neck, Ross looked from him to Blaine and the two men, then back to him before slowly starting to walk backwards towards his car, keeping an eye on all of them.

"I said it before, and I'll say it again: you better back the fuck off," he warned one last time, spitting another bit of blood from his mouth before turning around and heading for his car.

"You made a big mistake today Ross!" he heard Enrico yell from behind him. "You have something of mine and I'm going to get it back, one way or another!"

Ignoring him, Ross got back to his car where he gently knocked on the door, wondering if his friends would even let him back into the car after what just happened. Luckily he heard the click of the door unlocking and he swiftly opened the door and got in, noticing the looks of shock and fear plastered on their faces, and at that moment, he knew they had heard and seen everything that had took place.

Without a word, Ross silently returned the knife back into the glove compartment before starting up the car, taking a moment to gingerly adjust his jaw before pressing on the gas and speeding away. He could feel his friends' eyes all on him as they exited the alleyway, but he was far too furious to care. He knew from this moment forward, everything was going to change.

Meanwhile back in the alleyway, Blaine approached his boss to check on him as the car sped by. At that moment, he looked up, spotting a familiar face peeking back at them from the back seat and he couldn't help but grin.

"Hey boss, you remember that girl I told you about? Rachel?"

Enrico raised an eyebrow and Blaine pointed towards the car that was now exiting the alleyway. For just a split second, Enrico was able to get a look at the blonde girl Blaine was talking about just before Ross' car sped away and a grin came upon his face.

"Interesting… and you said she's close with him?"

"Very close."

Enrico flashed a menacing grin as he turned to look where the car had sped off to.

"Good. I may have a use for her later."

…

"What the hell just happened?!"

It had been a few minutes since they pulled from the alleyway and unable to hold it in, Monica had finally blurted out what was on all their minds as she stared at her brother for answers.

Ross didn't say a word, however; only keeping his eyes straight forward as he gripped the steering wheel hard, his knuckles turning white from his grip. He clenched his teeth, feeling Monica's eyes on the side of his head but choosing not to say anything.

"Huh?!" he heard her continue to persist, but his mouth remained shut. He was focused on one thing and one thing only: to get home as quick as he can and make a call.

A few moments later, the car pulled up into the driveway of Ross' car and before anyone could start asking him questions again he left his car in a hurry, leaving the door open as he headed for the front door. The rest of his friends followed him as they entered the house a few seconds after he did, spotting him grabbing a bag of ice and putting it to his jaw before taking the phone on the counter.

"What are you doing?" Phoebe asked but unsurprisingly, he didn't answer. Instead, he dialed a number and held the phone up to his non-injured side, pacing into the living room with his friends close behind.

Before any of them could say anything else, the person on the other end picked up.

"Scott, it's me," Ross said in a deep, cold voice. "He knows."

The group watched him in silence as he continued to pace around the living room, occasionally adjusting his jaw as he listened to Scott talk on the other end. Their conversation ended quickly though as Ross stopped and removed the ice bag from his jaw.

"Yeah, I got it. I'm coming over now," he said before hanging up the phone, walking over to put it back on the counter as he tossed the ice bag into the sink.

Before he could take a step towards the door, however, he was stopped by Monica, who looked at him sternly, despite the terrifying look his face.

"Oh no you don't. You aren't going anywhere until you answer our questions," she demanded, looking him in the eyes.

"I don't have time for this," he muttered, about to walk around his sister but was caught off guard when she gave him a hard shove to push him back.

"You have some explaining to do before you go anywhere," Chandler reiterated, standing next to Monica. The rest of their friends did the same and not long after, his friends had made a wall that blocked his path from getting to the doorway.

Ross let out a low growl, rubbing his forehead as he returned to the living room to pace around. His friends slowly walked towards him, not breaking apart their wall until they were in the living room with him, blocking all the exits.

"What do you want?"

"We want answers," Monica responded, crossing her arms.

"You want answers? You want answers?!" Ross was about to say something else, when he stopped himself. Slowly he unclenched his fists and let out a sigh a she looked to the ground. There was no point in hiding it any longer; they had already seen firsthand of what happened.

"… Alright fine. You want answers, I'll give you answers. You're going to find out one way or another anyways…"

The group of friends looked at each other, not expecting him to give in so easily, but seeing a chance to finally get to the bottom of everything, there wasn't a moment to waste.

"What the hell is happening?!" Monica asked again, the first one to step forward and question her brother.

Ross let out a sigh. "It's a long story… That guy, Enrico,… I used to work for him."

"He worked at the museum?" Joey asked, but Ross shook his head.

"No. I used to… deal drugs for him."

The sound of gasps echoed through the room as Ross' revelation caught them all of guard. They stared at him with widened eyes and looks of shock as a million questions popped into their minds.

"What?! You're a drug dealer?!" Monica exploded, her face flushing red.

"I used to… but yes," he said, nodding slowly. "I worked for him back when I first came to the city."

"But why? Why would you deal drugs if you worked at the museum?" Phoebe questioned, unable to piece together the reasoning behind it, along with everyone else.

Ross let out a sigh as he started recounting his early days of living in the city. "When I first came here… I wasn't working at the museum. I was supposed to, but the construction was delayed and I wasn't able to work for another month. They paid me, but only in bonuses since my contract pay didn't kick in yet, and it didn't take me too long to realise I was going to have some financial issues."

"That's when I met Scott, who introduced me to Enrico and his gang of drug dealers and criminals. I never thought I'd ever be associated with a group like that, but money was so tight that I wasn't sure if I would be able to pay my next month's rent, so when Enrico offered me a job, I took it. I started dealing drugs to a lot of his clients all around the city, and though the first week was tough, I got used to it quickly. It was good pay, and I met a lot of people through it; some good, and some bad."

"So when did you stop?" Chandler asked.

"A few months later. The museum ended up opening a month later and once I started working there, I didn't need the money from the drug deals anymore. The problem was I couldn't just get up and leave. Enrico would consider that a betrayal and I've seen him go to the extreme to take care of people he deems his enemies."

"So I ended up having to continue dealing drugs for him. At that time, and as I much as I hate how I did it, I got to know a lot of people around the city through my drug deals. I found out that a lot of people in association with Enrico and his gang, whether it be drug dealing, or buying, or something else, were doing it because they had no choice or because they couldn't find a way out. Scott was one of those people, and after we got to know each other well, I managed to get him a job at the museum so I could help him with his own problems."

"That's when everything started to fall apart. For a long time, Scott and I, along with a large group of people, were looking for a way out of Enrico's grasps, but it took some time and we struggled to find a way to get out with our lives intact. That's when a friend of ours, George – another one of Enrico's dealers he had a grasp on -, snapped. He confronted Enrico and told him he was done dealing drugs for him and that he was leaving…"

"What happened?"

"…he was shot on the spot," Ross answered, his voice slightly shaky as it was obvious the experience had a large effect on him. "That was only the beginning though, as a couple days later, I got a knock on my door from the San Diego police. They had found George's body and traced some evidence back to me and they took me in for questioning. They arrested me once they found out about my drug dealing and they were going to send me to prison, but funnily enough, they couldn't do it because of the same reason Enrico wouldn't kill me today: I had too many connections. Everyone in the city knew who I was and they worried that sending me to prison would cause a riot they couldn't control. So instead they charged me a one-hundred-fifty thousand dollar fine, which I was able to pay with my drug dealing money, and made me do fifty hours community service. Luckily no one knew about my arrests except Scott, and once I finished my community service, we knew we had to get out of this now before it escalated further."

"So we made a plan. Enrico owned a hanger near the docks which he used as a headquarters for all his gang. He kept the majority of his drugs there, and we knew the only way we could get out was to make our own way out. So we planned a heist. On a night I knew that all of Enrico's criminal and high-end drug dealers met at the hanger, all of us raided the place. We detained all the people there and spread out all of the drugs across the floor. Then when we were in the clear, we called the police and we got almost all of Enrico's gang arrested and millions of dollars worth of his drugs confiscated, and from then on, we were out. Without his gang and his drugs to sell, Enrico's power fell, and with that, we were able to get out without having to worry about him coming after us later."

"So why is he coming after you now? What is this case that he kept saying you took from him?" Monica questioned.

Ross went silent for a moment. "…That is something slightly different. You see, Enrico wasn't just a drug lord in San Diego; he had connections elsewhere, but his goal was to gain enough power through his drug cartel to take over the city and run it himself. For the longest time, his cartel made him one of the most powerful people in the city, but it wasn't enough."

"Before, he had mentioned to Scott and I of something new that would propel him to the top. Apparently he had connections with a group who had developed a new drug called _Enxanthropha_ , which he planned on bringing over and mass producing so he could sell it across the city. It was supposed to be a highly addictive drug that was worth millions of dollars just to develop, and once it was shipped over he was extremely protective about it; especially since the group of people who made it for him were caught a few days later so that one sample was the only one in existence."

"Scott was the one to realise that no matter what we did, if Enrico was able to mass-produce the drug, it would be impossible for us to get out. So during out heist, Scott, who was the only one who knew where Enrico kept it, was able to steal it from him. For days, we heard of how Enrico was going crazy, not just because of the aftermath of our heist, but mainly because someone had stole the Enxanthropha, and apparently he was doing everything in his power to look for it. I ended up taking it from Scott because I had just moved into this house and I had far better security than he did. We were able to keep it quiet for the next few months but somehow Enrico still found out, and now here we are."

"Wow," Phoebe said, letting out a deep breath of air. Her face was the same as everyone else's; looks of shock, panic, and overwhelmingness.

"I know it's a lot to take in…" he started.

"A lot? This is too much!" Monica exclaimed, her range of emotions difficult to read as they seemed to change every moment. "You… you were a drug dealer! You were arrested! You were involved in a heist! You were almost killed!"

At that moment, Joey remembered something and though a part of him worried he shouldn't let this out, he knew that now was the time to do it. "Does any of this have anything to do with those drugs you have in your bathroom cabinet?"

The room fell silent as Ross sent Joey a glare and for a split second, he almost thought he was about to attack him. Meanwhile Monica stared at her brother with a new look of worry plastered on her face.

"You… you do drugs?" she asked, almost in a disbelief whisper.

"No," he quickly answered, but they could all see through this lie.

Gaining a little confidence, Joey spoke up again. "Then what are those pills for then?" he asked, again getting another glare from him. He wasn't trying to embarrass him though, he was worried about him, and if there was actually something wrong with Ross that he wasn't telling them, he would never have forgiven himself if he had kept quiet.

"Ross, I this true?" Monica asked quietly.

Ross looked at his sister, seeing the amount of worry and compassion in her eyes and her voice that his heart broke. Letting out a sigh, he deicide that it was time for him to reveal his true demons, once and for all.

"That truth is…" he started slowly. "…yes, they are drugs. But they're not the drugs you're thinking of. It's called _Celexa_ … it's an… anti-depressant."

The reaction this time was far larger than before as Ross had never seen his friend's looked so shocked in their lives, Monica especially, as she seemed to almost go pale, as if she saw a ghost.

"Wh-what? What are you saying Ross?"

He sighed again. "I'm saying… I suffer from depression, and those pills are my anti-depressants."

"Oh my God," Monica covered her mouth, backing up slightly. Chandler, who was the closest one to her, gently rubbed her shoulders but he too was just as shocked.

"Wh-when did you… h-how did you…"

"It started when I first came to the city," Ross answered, understanding the question without him needing to finish. "At first, I didn't know what was wrong with me. Every day seemed like I was trudging through mud and that I was getting nowhere in life. Drug dealing didn't help it either. Overtime it started to get worse and every day was a struggle just to get through it. Luckily I discovered those anti-depressants otherwise I'm not sure if I could…"

Ross trailed off, his voice disappearing as he stared at the ground. It was the first time since he moved to San Diego that the group actually saw a vulnerable Ross in front of them. They could see how much his depression had affected his life and at the moment, it looked like he didn't have the strength to even get a single word out.

"And… and the scar?" Monica spoke up in a very quiet voice. She knew this probably wasn't the right time to ask about it but she just had to know. "I-is it… did you get it from…"

"Drug dealing? No…" Ross stared at the ground for a moment before slowly lifting up his shirt, revealing the scar his friends had discovered only a few days ago. "This… this is from me. I tried to… I almost…"

Now a new silence fell upon the group; a silence like no other. What had started as a fun, relaxing day has ended in an emotional roller coaster, with the biggest shock of them all the one that even shook the person telling it as Ross stood in the middle of his living room, a lost and despaired look on his face.

For Rachel, she saw all of this in a different light. The entire time, she had been more off to the side, letting the others ask the questions and discover his true secrets. But unlike them, what she saw was a man who had gone through so much over the past half-year, yet still found the good in him to care for the people around him. She saw a man who was strong, who was able to fight against his outside troubles as well as his mental battles, and still chose to help others before he helped himself.

What she saw was the man she fell in love with, and the man she had come here to return to.

And so, during a time when everyone was stuck in their own thoughts, Rachel slowly and quietly made her way to the man who had the most thoughts of them all. He didn't seem to notice when she reached him, his eyes locked on the ground, and when she saw this, she quietly peeked under his gaze before gently leaning forward and planting a long, soft kiss on his lips.

Her action seemed to snap her friends out of their own trances as they looked on at what she had done, small smiles appearing in the corner of their mouths. For Rachel, she held this kiss for as long as she could, wrapping an arm around his neck as she poured her all into this kiss. The emotions involved in this moment were indescribable and she knew this was a kiss she would never forget, and she was set to make it a kiss he would never forget either.

After what seemed like eternity, Rachel finally broke off the kiss, quietly gasping for breath as she looked at his shocked face with a slight blush.

"Rachel… I… you…" he stammered, as if he was unable to process this all.

"Ross, you've shared so much with us and you've told us the secrets you've been hiding all this time," she said, staring into his deep brown eyes. "Now it's my turn to reveal the secret I've been hiding. The reason we came to San Diego was because not only did we want to see you, but because _I_ wanted to see you."

"I-I don't understand," he said, the look on his face clearly expressing how lost he really was. Rachel just smiled softly into his eyes as she gently stroked his cheek.

"Ross, what I'm trying to say is… I still love you. I've always loved you, and the reason we came down here was for me to tell you that I want us to be together again," Rachel said, small tears glistening in her eyes as she stared into his own.

"Rachel... I… but we broke up," he finally managed to say.

"I don't care, it doesn't matter. Ross, we broke up because I was mad at you, but I _never_ stopped loving you," she responded, her emotions getting caught in her voice as now she was having a hard time getting it out. "I love you Ross. I love you. I…"

In the corner of her eyes, Rachel spotted one of her bags and she knew that at that moment, she had to express her love for him like she's never done before. Swiftly, before he or anyone else could say anything, she grabbed her bag, removing something from one of the front pocket and returning to him with the object in hand.

When he saw what she was holding, his eyes widened in shock. "I-is that…?"

Rachel quickly opened the small blue velvet box, revealing the engagement ring he had given to her before he had left. Tossing the box off to the side, Rachel stared into his eyes with tears in her own as she held the ring in her right hand.

"Ross… yes," she breathed, tears threatening her eyes. "Yes,… I want to marry you."

Before he could even say anything, Rachel slid the engagement ring onto her ring finger, her watery eyes still staring into his wide-eyes ones. It had all happened so fast that even though he saw it, his mind didn't process it until he heard their friends cheering off to the side that snapped him from his trance and returned his gaze to Rachel.

"Rachel I…" he started, looking her in the eye. "…I didn't propose to you."

Everything seemed to drop along with Rachel's face. "What?"

"I didn't propose to you," he repeated, slowly taking her hand and gently removing the ring. Rachel watched him do this in shock, as he slowly placed the ring back into her other hand, closing it up with his.

"Ross… I don't understand," she said, tears starting to fall from her eyes. "Don't you love me? I love you."

In response, he bit his bottom lip, as if he was struggling to figure out what to say until he said one word.

"Don't."

"Don't?" she asked, tears continuing to fall and roll down her cheek.

"Don't," he repeated, letting go of her hands. "Don't love me Rachel. Don't."

Seeing her reaction to this made his heart shatter into a million pieces as he watched her start to break down in front of him, but he knew he had to do it. Knowing that if he stayed, it would only make it harder for the both of them, he suddenly started walking towards the door and this time no one stopped him as he disappeared outside.

"He… he doesn't want me to love him?" Rachel bawled, breaking down as she fell into Monica's arms. She gently stroked her hair as she cried hard into her shoulder, harder than she's ever cried before.

Meanwhile Joey looked from Rachel, to the door, then back to Rachel and without a second thought, made a bee-line towards the entrance. When he stepped outside, he immediately spotted Ross walking towards his car, his hand in his hair, and as fast as he could he ran towards him and tackled him to the ground.

"Joey?!" he blurt out when he looked up to see who had tackled him. "What the hell are you doing?!"

"You can't leave Rachel like that!" Joey yelled, catching him off guard.

"No, she can't love me. I can't let it happen," Ross said softly.

"Well it happened, and she does! You're breaking her heart by leaving and I'm not going to let you do that!" he exclaimed, pinning him to the ground.

"Get off of me!" Ross yelled, getting into a wrestling match with Joey.

"No!"

Though he was a lot stronger than Joey now, he was putting all his weight on top of him which made it difficult for him to fight back. As Ross struggled to get free, a part of him snapped, whether it was from all the emotions riding on today or what had just happened with Rachel, but without thinking he raised a hand and punched Joey hard across the face, forcing him off him.

Once he was free, Ross quickly hopped into his car, starting it up and pulling from the driveway, leaving a slightly dazed Joey sitting up as he felt where Ross had hit him with his hand. In his rear-view mirror, Ross looked back at his house with only one thought on his mind, and the only one that mattered to him at the moment.

"I'm sorry Rachel."

…

 **Author's Note: Big chapter here guys. I told you it'd get intense. It's a lot to take in so if you need, read it over again because some of this stuff might be important in the future.**

 **By the way, can I get your opinion on that back story? Was it a little too unclear or did things not match up? I may do another story like this in the near future so it would help if I got some opinions on this 'style', I guess you could say, kind of writing.**


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Scott looked up at the large coffee house sign above the door to the building he was standing in front of. Hands in his pockets, he simply stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, people walking by him in both directions, though that was to be expected since it was the middle of the day when the downtown streets were usually packed with people.

He continued to stand outside, taking his time as he stared at the coffee house sign. He wasn't familiar with this coffee shop though, and in the back of his mind he wondered why the people he was here to meet chose this one. Speaking of which, those people were probably in there waiting for him right now while he was just outside stalling for time. He wasn't quite sure why though, and if you asked him, he genuinely couldn't give you an answer. It was just one of those things that you find yourself doing during stressful times, and he supposed his body was telling him this was one of them.

Walking in, he wasn't completely blind as to why he was here, however. He knew what this was about since Ross had told him last night when he had come over. He knew that some serious stuff had happened and that drastic things were going to happen soon, but he didn't know everything in detail. Ross had only given him a quick rundown of the situation and said he'd tell him more later when, and to quote him, "my jaw stops hurting like a bitch."

He did know the situation involved him though, and Ross had also told him to expect a call. Sure enough, the next morning he had received said call on his cell, asking him to meet somewhere and so here he was, walking into a random coffee house downtown expecting to meet a certain group of people and to possibly have the talk of a lifetime.

When he finally found the group of people, waiting for him at one of the larger tables in the place, he was greeted with impassive looks from a few familiar faces.

"Hi Scott, thanks for coming," Monica said, greeting him with a bland tone that was hard to read.

"Well you asked nicely so I decided to come," he joked lightly, though he didn't get his usual reaction as no one laughed. Breathing outwards, he slowly took a seat in front of the group, looking up to see all their eyes trailing on him.

 _So this is how it's going to be,_ he thought.

If he was going to be honest, he wasn't quite sure how they were going to act around him. He knew what they knew, or at least the general gist of it, so he partly expected them to be angry at him to some extent. So far, he still wasn't sure as their serious looks made it very hard to determine whether he had pissed off his new group of friends or not. Even Joey had a dead-panned look on his face, something that was very rare from the guy's book of emotions, and a part of him wondered how he was holding it for this long without giggling or something.

"Jesus, I feel like I'm in front of a jury right now," he commented, attempting another shot at lightening the mood. Once again, it came to no avail as no one laughed.

"I'd cool it with the jokes man, at least for now," Chandler advised, and when the jokester tells him not to crack jokes, he knew this was serious.

"Scott, you're probably wondering why we've asked you to meet with us today," Monica started, getting his attention.

"I think I have a general idea…" he answered slowly.

"Ross told you what happened?"

"In parts, but I know what this is about and what you probably want to talk about."

Monica nodded, looking at the others as if getting their confirmation as well before turning back to him. "Alright, well before we begin…" her voice softened, "…how is he?"

"He's doing ok," Scott answered. "He's been a little quiet since last night and Lauren's been helping him with his injuries, but aside from that he's been alright. He took the day off today to recuperate so he's probably sleeping right now."

That's when he noticed that the familiar group of five was only a group of four today, and that a certain blonde seemed to be missing. He looked around momentarily, just to make sure she wasn't coming back from somewhere, before asking the group.

"Where Rachel?"

"She's at home sleeping," Phoebe answered. "She stayed up crying last night and now she's finally resting."

 _Damn,_ he thought. _That's intense._

No wonder Ross had been so drained when he came over. He had mentioned what happened with Rachel, and though he wasn't surprised about their relationship, he was surprised about their history. Ross had filled them in on that, though he found it strange that Lauren already knew bits and pieces of it, and afterwards he could see why what happened with Rachel had more of an effect on him than the rest of what happened.

But he wasn't here to talk about Rachel. He was here to talk about all the rest of it.

"Anyways," Monica said, pulling him back as she looked at him carefully. "Look Scott, since you already know, we're going to cut to the chase here. Ross told us what happened, and it sounds like you had a big part of it. But since we got to know you, we decided not to judge you without hearing your side to the story."

He was a little taken back. "My side?"

"Yes, your side," Chandler confirmed. "We want to know why you did the things you did and why you ended up dragging Ross into all of this. We want to know what happened from your side from the start."

Scott let out another breath of air. This was going to be heavier than he thought it would be.

"Alright, you guys deserve to know my side, so I'll tell you. But if you want to know from the start, that stems farther back than you might have thought," he said, earning nods in return.

"Ok… from the start…" He took a breath. "Well, it all started a few months after I turned eighteen. I was walking home from school one afternoon when I saw two policemen waiting outside my door. When I approached them, they told me why they were there: my parents had died in a car accident."

"Oh my God," Monica gasped, clearly not expecting that as she had the same reaction as everyone else. "I'm so sorry Scott."

"It's ok, I've gotten to accept it over the years," he answered simply, nodding his head. "Of course, back then, I had taken it really hard, but Lauren had taken it harder. She was only fifteen then, and she took it horribly, crying nonstop for almost a week and having to take time off of school. Luckily we both avoided orphanage since I had just turned eighteen and was legally allowed to be Lauren's guardian, and one night after seeing her crying in her room alone, I promised myself I would do everything I can so that she can live a normal life."

"I spent the next few years working multiple jobs all over the city," Scott continued. "Money was tight and we had been forced to move out of the house we grew up in just to cut down on finances. It was a rough time for both of us since the jobs I worked paid minimum wage and I really only had enough for us to get by with just a little to spare on the side."

"In Lauren's senior year, I knew she wanted to go off to college but she never brought it up because she knew we didn't have the money for it. I tried my best to get as much money as I could, sometimes even working all day just to get some extra cash to put to her savings, but after a few months I realized I wouldn't have enough. That's when I met Enrico."

"He found me on the streets one day, working as one of the city cleaners in one of his neighborhoods. After that, he took me in. For whatever reason, he took a liking to me and offered me a place in his gang. I was young and desperate, so when I realized I could get the money for Lauren to go off to college, I took it."

"Did Lauren ever find out where that money came from?" Chandler asked.

Scott nodded. "Yeah, she found out one night when she found drugs in my bag. We fought about it for a long time, but when I finally told her that I was doing it all for her, she broke down crying and made me promise that I'd be ok, no matter what happened."

"Fast forward a few years, Lauren had graduated from college and was working at a fashion store while I was still working for Enrico. One day, while I was out on a deal, I accidently mistaked a random guy as the client I was supposed to meet, and ended up approaching him. The guy turned out to be Ross, and it didn't take long for me to realize he wasn't the guy I was looking for. Ross was shocked at first, but surprisingly he took the situation pretty well. For some reason, he saw something in me aside from the drug dealing and we ended up grabbing some coffee together."

"Ross and I started hanging out, and I found out he was a really nice guy who was new to the city. After our first meeting, we instantly bonded and I even felt comfortable enough to introduce him to Lauren, and those two hit it off ever since. As time went on, we all got closer, and one day Ross told me he was having trouble financially and wasn't sure what he should do. I instantly thought of Enrico and how he helped me out so many years ago so I introduced him to Ross, and though he was reluctant at first, he ended up taking the job offer, just like I did."

"So you didn't force him into it?" Joey asked, as if clarifying what I was saying.

I shook my head. "No, of course not. Ross knew about what I did but I never thought to get him involved until that day he told me he was desperate for help and so I did what I thought would help."

"Is there anything else that happened?" Monica questioned.

"Not anything too important. We went about our business for about a month or so until Ross started working at the museum. He somehow managed to get me a job there with actual decent pay, and that's when we knew it was time for us to leave Enrico's gang. And from there, I'm assuming you know the rest."

The four of them nodded.

"What about the case you stole?" Phoebe questioned. "Why does Ross now have it even though you took it?"

"I never wanted him to have it," Scott answered, understanding why he was being questioned so forcefully on these topics. "When I stole it, I had all the intention to be responsible for it myself. But when we found out Enrico was doing everything in his power to get it back, we knew that keeping it at my house would put Lauren in danger so Ross insisted he hold onto it instead."

His answer seemed to satisfy the questioning looks on all their faces, and he was glad. All of this that he was saying was true; he never intended on having Ross be involved with this so deeply, but things just ended up happening. He would never understand what Ross saw in him that made him stick around, and though they were both in deep shit, he was glad to have someone like him to call his brother.

"Anymore questions?" Scott asked, willing to answer more if they wanted. Joey, Chandler, and Phoebe shook their heads, looking at each other.

"His depression," Monica suddenly said, looking at him intently from her seat. "Did you know about it?"

Scott sighed. "I did."

"And you didn't do anything about it?"

He sensed the accusing tone, but knew she was just worried. "I tried, but he refused to go see a doctor. So instead, I hooked him up with a friend of ours who he could get anti-depressants from."

Monica seemed to stare at him for a few more moments before finally letting out a sigh. "Alright, I believe you," she said, looking at him with a softer look. "I'm sorry for being so uptight Scott, it's just-"

"No, don't worry, there's no need to apologize," Scott said, cutting her off. "I totally understand. If it were the other way around, I'd act exactly as you are."

"Thanks," she smiled softly. "And we believe you. We know you never intended any of this to happen. Thanks for being honest with us and thanks for sticking with Ross all this time."

Scott shook his head, giving his own smile.

"No, thank you for believing me, and thank him for seeing something inside me that I didn't even see."

…

It was late, and after constantly telling her friends that she would be fine, she finally managed to get them upstairs to go to bed. Now, Rachel lay in her own bed, on her back and staring up at the ceiling in the same position she'd lay in all day.

But she wasn't fine.

If anything, she was the exact opposite.

On the inside, she was a mess; a completely and utter mess. It was like her whole life had just been turned upside down and inside and out. God knows what condition her heart was in right now, and hell, she'd even be surprised if there was anything left. She expected it all to have shattered away, disappearing into a dark void of nothing but sadness and pain.

But this is all probably to be expected after two days of straight crying.

She had cried all of last night, and after waking up late today, cried all of today as well. She had cried to the point where she didn't even think she had it in her to cry again. The tears had just stopped coming, replaced with a pain that made crying seem like a completely useless form of relief.

She hadn't felt pain like this since their breakup, and even then, it felt worse. If it wasn't for that stupid breakup, none of them would be here right now. There wouldn't be this war with this psychotic drug lord, Ross wouldn't have depression, they would be back in New York, and she and Ross would be happily together, probably planning for their wedding somewhere.

She just didn't understand. Why didn't he want her to love him? Did he think this was just something she could control? Did he not want her anymore? No, but that couldn't be true. She had heard him say that he still loved her.

It all just didn't make sense.

Rachel let out a sad, defeated groan as she flipped to her side. She wanted to cry again but like she mentioned, it was as if her body had run out of tears. In that moment, she gently rubbed her eyes and a part of her wondered what she looked like right now. Probably a complete mess if she was to be honest.

As she felt her cheeks, she felt trails of dried tears that stained her face. Realizing how disgusting she was right now, she forced herself up to go take a shower. Maybe the hot water could help take the pain away, but she knew that was a long shot.

Taking a random sweater and a pair of sweatpants, she headed for the bathroom.

A few minutes later she emerged from the steams of the bathroom, cleaned up but ironically still feeling like complete garbage. She just wanted to curl up in a ball and let life take her away to her pain and misery, and she planned on doing that as soon as she got back into her bed.

As she approached the living room, however, she noticed that the balcony door was wide open. She stood there, staring at it in confusion, wondering if her misery had somehow made her so oblivious that she had missed the wide open door while walking to the bathroom.

When she went to go close it though, she froze when she saw a figure standing outside. Her breath got caught in her throat and a wave of shock ran down her body.

She couldn't believe it. It was him.

"R-Ross?" she called out, her voice shaking as she stepped outside. The cool night breeze hit her instantly but she didn't feel anything. She was too distracted to feel anything.

Sure enough, he turned around, confirming it was him. Once again she froze up, staring at his tired and beaten eyes that resembled hers from a distance. He looked completely disheveled, with his hair looking messily combed and his face unshaven. He too looked a mess, but unlike her, he seemed to be holding up a bit.

"Hi," he said simply.

"Y-you're back," she replied, almost in a question.

"Yeah."

He turned back around and Rachel forced herself to walk forward a little. Despite the shake, she made herself take one step, then another until she was slightly behind him, looking up at the back of his head and waiting for something to happen.

For a few moments, nothing did. Both of them kept quiet and the only sounds that could be heard were their breathing and the soft whistling of the night wind.

"Why?" Rachel suddenly blurt out, unable to take the silence any longer. She felt a whole new wave of tears preparing themselves to be released.

Ross sighed before turning around slowly. "Rachel…"

"No, I want to know Ross," she interrupted, blinking away tears. "Why? Wh-why don't you want me to love you? Why can't we be together?"

"Rachel… it's complicated…"

"Then tell me!" she practically begged, pleading with his eyes. "Do you have a problem with me?"

"No, of course not."

"Then what? Is there something wrong with me? Are you not in the right place?"

"No, I…" Ross slowly trailed off, feeling as though he had heard those words before. Slowly it started to dawn on him and his eyes widened.

Seeing this, Rachel nodded her head, wiping some tears away. "Yeah, I heard you and Lauren talking that day. I heard everything, and I know that you're still in love with me too!" she yelled, jabbing him in the chest.

"I… You…" Ross stuttered, clearly astonished that she had overheard them. "… You weren't supposed to hear that…" he mumbled quietly.

"Well I did," she said, finding his eyes once again. "So if you still love me, and I still love you, why can't we be together?"

Ross seemed to be at a loss of words for a moment as his eyes remained on hers until he finally ripped them away. "How can you still love me after what I did? I cheated on you."

"I don't care!" Rachel yelled, surprising him and surprising herself slightly at her words. "I… I don't care. I thought I did, but I don't. It hurts too much to be apart from you Ross. I'm too damn in love with you to care!"

He seemed taken aback by all of this. "So, what are you saying?"

"I forgive you Ross," she replied softly. "I forgive you for what you did."

A brief smile appeared on his face momentarily until it suddenly dropped. "…but it's too bad I can't."

"What?"

"I can't forgive myself, Rachel," Ross finally said, looking her in the eyes. "Maybe you can forgive the horrible thing I did, but I can't."

She didn't understand. How can he not forgive himself? "B-but why not?"

"Because…" he trailed off, running a hand through his hair. "…because you were my everything, Rachel. You were the light that guided my way, and the person I woke up every day just to see. Hell, I was going to propose to you because I was so in love with you and never wanted us to be apart. But then I was stupid, and jealous, and made so many mistakes, and ended up doing the one thing that I promised myself I wouldn't do: hurt you."

She stared up at him with soft eyes, her heart warming to his touching words as tears started to form again. "Ross…"

He shook his head, looking to the ground. "No, I can't forgive myself for making the biggest mistake of my life. When I lost you, I lost everything. So I moved here, to get away and for you to be happy." He stopped for a second, staring at the ground for a bit longer before turning away from her. "You need to move on Rachel."

"No, I can't do that," she said, stepping one step closer to him as he stared out over the balcony rail. "I can't do that. I can't move on without you Ross."

She heard him sigh again, before he slowly turned back to her. "I… I can't let you be involved with me. The things I've done and the things I've gotten myself into. My life right now is a mess Rachel, and I can't let you be involved with it."

"I don't care Ross, I don't," she repeated, tears appearing in her eyes. "I don't care what happens. I want to be with you."

"But if anything ever happened to you, I-"

She cut him off when she reached up and kissed him suddenly, wrapping her arms around his neck. She poured as much love and passion into the kiss, showing him the only way she could of how much she wanted to be with him. She didn't care about the past or the things he's done. She just cared about them, and the fact that he was the one man in the world who she ever truly loved.

Eventually the urge to breathe was too much and she slowly broke the kiss, panting slightly as she stayed on her tiptoes so she could lean her forehead on his, staring into his deep brown eyes.

"Please, just give us a second chance, Ross," she pleaded softly, tears glistening in her eyes from the moonlight. "I love you."

He stared into her eyes for a moment before saying four words that shook her world.

"I love you too."

Before either of them could say anything more or grasp the true implication of their words, their lips met together, fitting perfectly as they joined in a slower but just as passionate kiss. Their tongues danced together in perfect harmony as the rest of the world faded around them. His hands went from her hair down to her hips as she let one of her arms unravel from his neck, slowly snaking down to his chest where she pressed against the firm muscles underneath. She couldn't help but let out a soft moan.

Suddenly, in a quick motion Ross grabbed both her thighs and pulled her up to him, her arm instinctively returning back to his neck. Their kissing continued as an unspoken agreement passed between them.

With her still in his arms and their lips still connected in an ardent kiss, he slowly started back into the house.

…

 **Author's Note: Lot of talks here. Just cleaning up some stuff from the previous chapter.**

 **Not much else to say. Hope you enjoyed.**


	12. Chapter 12

**Chapter 12**

Rachel let out a soft groan as she shifted on the soft mattress, stretching out slightly as her body slowly started to wake from her heavy slumber. She blindly turned on her side, lazily running her free hand across the area next to her when she suddenly froze.

This didn't feel like her bed.

Her eyes immediately shot open and she was surprised to find that she wasn't lying on the pull-out couch in the living room. Instead she was in an actual bed, in an unfamiliar room, yet a familiar scent wafted in the air around her.

For a second, Rachel began to freak out, unsure of where she was or what she was doing here, when all of a sudden the memories of last night came rushing back to her. She remembered finding Ross on the balcony, the talk they had and the kiss they shared, and finally when he brought her back inside…

She felt a large smile appear on her face, gently rolling onto her back as she stared up at the ceiling, thinking about what they had done last night. It was all just… unbelievable. Oh, how life can change drastically in the blink of an eye. One day ago she was lost and completely empty on the inside. Now, it was as if she was reborn; seeing the world in a whole new light and finding a new reason to wake up in the morning.

Rachel slowly sat up, her smile still plastered on her face as she stretched her arms. She turned and let her legs dangle off the bedside, surprising herself when she noticed that she was wearing nothing but one of his shirts. She couldn't help but blush as she stood up, instinctively pulling the shirt down so it covered the parts that should be covered.

Doing a couple more stretches, a yawn escaped her mouth as she turned to look at the time on the bed stand, seeing that it was still very early in the morning. Still feeling a little tired, she was about to crawl back into bed when she noticed someone in the corner of her eye that brought a small smile to her face.

Off to the side was Ross, standing in front of a mirror with his bottom half fully dressed but his top half completely bare. When Rachel turned to look at him, she took a second to admire his muscular back, realizing that he hadn't noticed her yet. Still smiling, she quietly crept up to him.

Ross snapped out of his thoughtful daze when he felt two small arms snake around his torso and a soft cheek rest on his back. He glanced down at the pair of arms before looking up in the mirror, raising his right arm to find Rachel's head poking out from behind him, looking a little sleepy but smiling at him through the mirror. He smiled back.

"Good morning," he heard her say in a soft, velvet voice that made him smile wider.

"Good morning beautiful," he replied, feeling her nudge into his back gently.

"You're up early."

"I have to go in early today since I didn't go in yesterday," Ross said, rubbing her arm affectionately.

He gently took one of her arm and lifted it up, kissing the back of her hand before slowly climbing up her arm with soft kisses. When he got high enough, he swiftly turned around, finding her large blue eyes waiting for him. They shared a soft smile before their lips met in a soft, blissful kiss. When they broke, Ross gently tucked a strand of her hair behind her ear as they continued to stare into each other's eyes.

"Ross, last night… it was just... incredible," Rachel said, her eyes sparkling as she did.

"I know, it really was. It was absolutely amazing," he smiled, and she smiled back.

All of a sudden Rachel's smile disappeared and she broke their eye-contact, looking down at ground as she shuffled awkwardly. He raised an eyebrow.

"What?"

She stayed quiet for a moment. "What we did last night… did it mean anything, or are we going to carry on like nothing happened?" she asked quietly.

"Rachel, you know I'm not that kind of person."

"I know, but…" She shifted her weight to her other leg. "…you've changed…"

Ross let out a sigh, before gently tilting her chin upwards so he could see her eyes. "Rachel, the last time I lied to you I ended up making the biggest mistake of my life. Everything I said and everything we did last night, I meant it."

"So… are you giving us another chance?" she asked shyly.

He brushed another strand of her hair to the side. "Yes… I do want to give us another chance," he said, and a small smile appeared on her face. "But, I need to take it slow. I can't trust myself fully yet and if I end up hurting you again, I don't know what I would do. I would never forgive myself."

Rachel suddenly stepped into his arms, hugging him tightly. "That's fine, as long as I'm with you," she whispered as he slowly wrapped his arms around her small body.

"You're amazing," he whispered in return, leaning down to gently kiss her hair. "Also I know I changed, but I hope none of that changes us. I promise, I'll tell you anything you want to know about me."

He felt her nod into his chest and he smiled, kissing her again. They held the position for a moment longer and he gave her a light squeeze, before turning back to the mirror.

When Rachel looked up again, she noticed he was staring at himself in the mirror again. She followed his eyes in the mirror to what appeared to be what he was looking at: the long scar on his chest. With her arms still wrapped around his torso, she slowly moved one upwards until she gently skimmed his scar, making him jump slightly.

"Sorry," Ross said, realizing he had zoned out again. He looked down at her gentle finger tracing his scar and though it didn't hurt, he still winced slightly. She felt him tense up and immediately stopped.

"Does it hurt?" he heard her ask.

"Not on the outside, but it does on the inside," he answered truthfully. He didn't move for a moment and he felt her restart her tracing again, only slower.

"Tell me about it."

"Do you really want to know?" he asked, looking at her through the mirror.

She slowly nodded her head.

Ross let out a breath. "Well… I didn't lie to you when I mentioned it earlier. I did fall… off the balcony… on purpose…"

She didn't move and he took that as a sign to continue.

"It was a night when I felt so empty on the inside," he further explained, feeling her soft touch again. "I thought there was nothing left in the world worth living for, and I thought that the best option for me was to just end everything right then and there… and so I jumped."

He let out a sigh before continuing. "As soon as I did, I regretted it. As I fell, I realized there was so much in my life worth living for and that if I had a second chance, I would never take my life for granted again. Someone must have been listening because somehow I survived the fall, but I had my chest cut open by one of those sharp rocks behind the house, which is how I got the scar."

"Ross…" Rachel whispered, hugging him from behind. "I'm so sorry you had to go through that alone."

"Yeah… it was hard…" he admitted, exhaling deeply. "I still struggle with it sometimes, but every morning I look myself in the mirror to remind myself of the mistake I almost made."

A moment of silence passed between them as he felt her nudge into his back and rest there. He smiled and gently rubbed her arms. She was still the woman he loved, and though it was him who made the final decision, he would forever be grateful of how _she_ had given _him_ a second chance.

After a few more minutes, he slowly turned, placing a gentle kiss on her forehead. He noticed her tired eyes and smiled softly.

"I have to go to work. You should get some more sleep," he said, and she nodded sleepily.

Carefully he swept her up into his arms and carried her to the bed, gently setting her down. He covered her up with the blanket and smiled at her beautiful face. Her eyes fluttered open for a mere second and he read them, leaning down and setting a soft kiss on her lips. She purred softly before shifting in the bed, moving into a more comfortable position so she could fall back asleep.

Ross smiled and looked at her one more time before quietly moving to his closet, quickly throwing on a white collared shirt as well as a simple jacket over top. He grabbed his briefcase off his desk and stopped in front of the mirror, fixing his shirt as he noticed the smile on his face he didn't even know he had.

After fixing himself up, he quietly headed to the bathroom, grabbing a comb to touch up his hair. After he did that he put it down, instinctively reaching for the upper cabinet and removing the white pill bottle. He was about to pop it open when he stopped himself.

He looked at the pill bottle in his hand before turning to the small sleeping form resting in his bed. A small smile reappeared on his face as he looked back to the pill bottle, looking at it for a few moments.

"Nope, not today," he whispered to himself with a smile, quickly putting it back in the cabinet and shutting it closed.

Ross quietly shut off the lights in the bathroom, taking one last glance at Rachel silently dozing off with a small smile on her face, before leaving the room, gently closing the door behind him.

…

The next time Rachel opened her eyes she felt well rested but most of all, she felt loved. She stretched out on the bed, smiling to herself as this time she knew where she was. Slowly she crawled out of bed, walking over to a chair that had all her clothes already laid out in front of her. She quickly pulled on her underwear and pants, though she decided to keep the shirt she was wearing on and simply grabbed her sweater in her hands.

After she got dressed, she walked over to the mirror that she had stood in front of with him a few hours ago and smiled at the recent memory. She looked down at the shirt she was wearing and inhaled deeply, his scent filling her nose and bringing butterflies to her stomach.

She could get used to this.

Meanwhile as she was still inside the bedroom, the rest of her friends were outside, having breakfast and holding simple morning chats with each other.

"So what do you think is going to happen with Ross and Rachel?" Joey asked, shoving a piece of bacon into his mouth.

"I don't know. Things are so complicated with them, not to mention their own problems," Monica pointed out.

"I just wish they would stop pushing each other away and just get back together already," Phoebe said. "I'm tired of seeing them hurt each other."

"But remember, it was Ross who pushed her away this time," Chandler mentioned. "He's the one with the problems and he's the one who hurt her."

"And my face," Joey mumbled, rubbing the spot where he had been hit.

"Joey, you know he didn't mean it. It was just in the heat of the moment," Monica said.

He sighed. "Yeah, I know."

"Well anyways, until Ross even comes back, he and Rachel will never figure things out," Phoebe said.

"Yeah…"

Suddenly Chandler realized that he hadn't seen a certain blonde that morning and he looked to the living room to see if she was there.

"Hey guys, speaking about Rachel, where is she?"

The three other friends all shared the same confused look and they all turned to look at the living room at the same time to see that she wasn't there.

"What? I could have swore she was there sleeping," Joey said, pointing at the messy sheets on the pull-out couch.

"Where do you think she could have gone?" Monica asked.

"Well she's not in the bathroom because I just got out from there," Phoebe mentioned. "Maybe she went after Ross?"

"No way," Chandler said, shaking his head. "Did you see her last night? She could barely even eat. You think she managed to force herself up to search around the city for Ross?"

Phoebe shrugged. "It was just a guess."

Before anyone else said something about where they thought Rachel was, they all heard the sound of a door opening and they turned towards the hallway that led to Ross' room. They all shared a confused look, wondering if Ross had come back last night, but their confusion only increased when they saw Rachel emerge from the hallway instead.

"Rachel!" Monica exclaimed when she saw her.

"Hey guys," she responded cheerfully, happily trotting over to the counter, completely missing all of their confused and astonished looks.

"Um… what? Rachel, what happened?" Phoebe questioned, looking at her strangely.

"What?"

"What do you mean what? Last night you were all blubbery and sad, and now you're all cheerful and happy! This doesn't make any sense!" she exclaimed as Rachel simply smiled.

"I think a better question would be why did you just come from Ross' room?" Chandler asked.

"Well…"

"Hold on," Monica interrupted her, looking at her as if she was scanning over her body. "Where did you get that shirt? You don't own that shirt."

Rachel opened her mouth to respond, but decided against it before she said anything. Instead, she took a seat at the counter, smiling largely at her friends. For a few minutes all of their confused expressions didn't change, but slowly one by one their looks of confusion turned into looks of shock.

"Oh my God, is that his?!" Monica exploded with excitement in her voice.

Rachel bit her lips and nodded.

"Oh my God!" all her friends exclaimed at the same time.

"I know!" she shouted in return, unable to contain her own excitement anymore.

"Oh my God!" Monica repeated for the third time. "How did this even happen?"

"Well, last night he came back and I found him on the balcony. We talked and then somehow we started kiss and that's when he brought me back to his room," she explained, her smile remaining on her face. "Then this morning, we talked again and he confirmed that he wanted to give us another chance!"

"Oh, that's so great!" Phoebe exclaimed, giving her a hug. "I'm so happy my lobsters are back together!"

"Wait, you slept with him _before_ you guys were officially back together?" Joey asked and she nodded. "Nice."

Monica rolled her eyes as she went to give Rachel a large hug. "I'm so happy for you Rach!"

"I'm so happy for me too!" she exclaimed. "It's like one day, I feel like I have nothing left and the next day he comes to sweep me off my feet and rescue me from my misery."

"And where art thou Romeo?" Chandler joked. Rachel slapped him on the arm but couldn't help but smile.

"He had to go to work early today," she answered.

For a few moments, there was nothing but large smiles shared between the group as they all slowly started to cool off from their excited high.

"Alright," Phoebe said sometime later, turning to Rachel. "Now that you've told us the rundown version, tell us _exactly_ what happened."

"In detail!" Monica added.

Rachel shot her an amused look. "Are you sure you want to know it all _in detail_?"

Monica paused to think about what she just said. "Oh, ew! Ok, no! Leave _that_ part out!"

"Aww! Why? I say let her be as detailed as she wants!" Joey countered, earning a punch by Chandler.

"Ignore him Rachel," he said. "Start from the beginning."

Rachel took a deep breath, a large smile coming to her face as flashes of everything that happened last night appeared in the front of her mind.

"Well…"

…

It was midday when Ross and Scott were out at the loading bay, moving crates and taking inventory of the new shipments as per their manager's request. Ross was taking some notes on the new fossils, talking to a researcher that worked in his department as Scott moved the last few crates over to the storage unit.

"…and Donald wants all the reports on the new fossils in by next week," Ross concluded, turning to the researcher who nodded.

"Will do Dr. Gellar, I'll get right on that," the man said before heading back into the building.

Ross watched him go with a smile before turning back to the fossil in front of him, taking a few notes himself. That's when he noticed Scott looking at him in the corner of his eye and he turned to find him leaning against one of the crates with a bemused look on his face.

"What?"

"You're awfully cheerful today compared to how dead you were yesterday," Scott commented. "Spill. What happened when you got home?"

Ross smiled. "I patched things up with Rachel and now we're giving it another shot."

"Aww, look at you getting back together with your girlfriend," Scott mocked.

"Shut up."

He laughed. "I'm kidding Ross, I'm happy for you. I've actually never seen you this happy. Who knew some girl could turn you into this."

"Yeah, well this isn't some isn't some girl. This is Rachel," Ross replied.

Scott rolled his eyes. "Alright, enough with the sappy stuff." Just like that his joking expression disappeared, turning into a deadpanned one. "Let's talk about something a little more serious."

Ross looked around to make sure no one was around to possibly eavesdrop into their conversation before turning back to Scott. "Ok."

"Good, so now that you're not all emotional and depressed, what are we going to do with Enrico and his little pack of attack dogs."

"I don't know."

Scott raised an eyebrow. "Are you kidding? You always have an idea and you're telling me you don't have one when we need it the most?"

"Yes," Ross answered honestly, catching Scott off-guard. "I've got nothing this time Scott. It's not like before. We don't know where he is or what he's planning."

"Great, so we're just sitting ducks waiting to be hunted down," he mumbled, gritting his teeth.

"Look, I hate this as much as you do," Ross started. "But there's nothing we can do. All we know is that he knows we have the Enxanthropha and that he's going to try to get it back, so until then all we can do is watch our backs and wait."

Scott let out an exasperated breath. "You know I hate waiting…"

"Yeah, but you'll do it, for Lauren," Ross said, getting his friend's attention with his sister's name. "Remember, he knows you're involved so there's a chance he might go after you or Lauren."

"Shit, you're right," he said, running a hand through his hair. Scott turned around and slammed his fist against a crate. "Ugh, I hate this!"

"I do too," Ross said, placing a hand on Scott's shoulder. "But until Enrico makes a move, all we can do is wait."

…

 **Author's Note: Fanfiction's had some issues this past week. This chapter would have come out much earlier but unfortunately I wasn't able to publish anything.**

 **By the way, I haven't started it yet but I already know I'm going to really struggle with the next chapter, so here's a warning that I may need some extra time for that one.**


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

"Alright, and we're off!"

"Hell yeah! I'm starved!"

The group of friends watched with large amused grins on their face as Joey and Chandler marched triumphantly towards the front door.

"You know Joey, you're always starved," Phoebe pointed out, pausing for a moment. "But wait… if you're always starved, that means starving is just normal for you. So thatmeans you can't be starved because when you are starved you're just normal."

Joey paused and stared at Phoebe with a blank look. Only a few moments later did he seem to snap out of his trance as he shook it off. "Pheebs, I've never been more confused in my life."

"That's hard to believe," Chandler muttered next to him.

Joey spun around and gave him a glare. "Ok, can we just forget about this and go eat dinner? My stomach needs food!"

"Alright, _and now we're off to where_?" Monica asked using the same voice Chandler had used earlier to mock him, turning to him with a grin.

"I'm going to pretend like that didn't happen," he said. "And also, I'm not sure. You guys have any ideas?"

"Nope."

"Nada."

Suddenly Joey snapped his fingers. "Hey wait, why don't we all go to that Italian restaurant we went to before? You know, the one run by that Francesco guy?" he suggested, motioning to all six of them.

"Hold on," Ross stepped forward, holding up a hand. " _We_?"

The rest of them looked at him confused.

"What other _we_ is there?" Chandler questioned.

Ross raised an eyebrow before turning around, looking at Rachel who was standing next to him. "You didn't tell them?"

She shook her head. "No, I thought you did."

"Tell us what?" Monica asked.

"Well," Ross started, wrapping an arm around Rachel's waist and pulling her closer. "Rachel and I were planning on going out tonight so we won't be able to join you."

Immediately four excited looks appeared on all four of their friends faces, all of them beaming at them.

"Really?" Monica asked excitedly.

"Yup!" Rachel smiled, looking up at Ross. "It's our second first date!"

"Oh, that's so great!" Phoebe exclaimed, wrapping them both in a large hug.

"You know, I thought I had felt incredibly under-dressed," Chandler joked, only now noticing that both Ross and Rachel were slightly more dressed up than they usually were.

"Where are you guys going?" Monica asked.

"That's a surprise," her brother replied, giving Rachel a soft squeeze which she squeezed back. A chorus of 'aww's echoed through the group and she couldn't help but blush a little.

Suddenly Joey coughed which got all of their attention. "Sorry, I don't mean to be rude, but can we go get food now?"

Everyone rolled their eyes as Monica walked over to use the phone.

A moment later she rejoined everyone in the kitchen, dusting off her hands as she picked up her purse. "Alright, I just called a cab and it should be here any minute. We should probably wait for it outside."

"Ok, let's go!" Joey exclaimed, clearly eager to get to dinner as he was the first to start heading towards the door.

"Hold on Joey," Ross called out, getting his attention as he crossed his arms across his chest and looked at his friend with an amused look. "Since I'm not going with you, where exactly is Francesco's restaurant located?"

Joey opened his mouth to respond, but no words escaped as there were none. He immediately shut his mouth and looked down sheepishly. "Uh… I guess I don't really know."

Ross rolled his eyes as he unraveled his arms and walked over to the counter, writing something down on a slip of paper and handing it to Joey.

"Here, give this address to the driver."

Joey looked down at the slip of paper and instantly his smile returned. "Awesome! Thanks Ross! Now let's go!" And with that, he bolted out the door.

Ross chuckled and Rachel walked over to join him as the rest of their friends headed out the door, giving their goodbyes.

"See ya later guys!"

"Bye!"

"Have fun!"

"Hey," Ross called out, stopping his sister who was the last to leave and looking at her with a serious expression. "Remember what I told you a few days ago; stick together and watch each other's backs."

Monica nodded. "We'll be careful, don't worry."

"Ok," he said, nodding back. "Now you better go or Joey might die from starvation."

Monica laughed and gave them both a wave before walking out and closing the door behind her. As soon as the front door was shut, Ross turned to Rachel who was looking up at him with a smile.

"Well, I think it's our turn to head to dinner now," he said with a smile. "You ready?"

"Are you kidding? I've been ready ever since you told me you were going to take me out today," she replied, making him laugh. They looked at each other before leaning in for a soft kiss.

Once they broke Ross backed up slightly, brushing a strand of her hair from her face, making her face turn a little red, before taking her hand.

"Alright, let's go."

…

Half an hour later, Rachel walked alongside Ross on the sidewalk as she followed him to wherever he was leading them. She could tell the sun was beginning to set by the colours swirling around in the sky above the buildings and she was starting to feel a little relentless.

"Ross, how much longer do we have to walk?" she asked, and though she sounded impatient she was genuinely curious. With every step, it seemed like they were walking _away_ from the city and they've been walking for quite a long time now.

Ross just smiled to himself and gave her hand a little squeeze as he continued forward. "Just a little bit longer. We're almost there."

Sure enough, a few minutes later after they turned the block, Rachel was surprised to find that they had reached a sandy beach with a nice view of the wide ocean. When Ross stopped, she looked up at him with a curious look.

"Why'd we stop?"

"Because we're here."

Now she was even more confused. They were at a beach, not a restaurant. Where were they going to eat?

"I don't get it," she said. "We're at a beach. How can we be here?"

Ross chuckled, gently pulling her in front of him and turning her to her left. Where Ross' body was blocking her view, she now spotted a sectioned-off part of the beach where multiple tables and chairs were set up on the soft sand. Nearby was a small building, with many waiters and waitresses coming and going as they brought food to the waiting tables on the beach.

"Woah," she gasped, not expecting for him to bring her to an outdoor restaurant.

"Impressed?" he asked, waggling his eyebrows at her.

Rachel smiled. "A little."

"Come on, let's go eat," he said, gently pulling her along.

As they walked towards the outdoor restaurant Rachel noticed the name plastered on the side of the small building.

"I wonder why it's called ' _Beachside View_ '," she pointed out.

Ross shrugged. "No idea. Maybe because ' _Oceanside View_ ' was already taken."

Rachel couldn't help but laugh and she grabbed onto his arm, leaning into him closer as they approached the entrance of the sectioned-off beach area where they were greeted by a hostess.

"Hi, we should have reservations under _Gellar_ ," Ross said.

"Welcome Dr. Gellar, we already have your table specially prepared for you," the hostess responded. "Please, follow me."

She led them over to a table a little further down the shoreline where a table was already set up near the ocean, close enough to get an amazing view of the clear waters but far enough so they wouldn't get splashed by the waves.

"Wow, look at that view," Rachel said in awe, staring out towards the water horizon.

"Please, enjoy yourselves. Your waiter will be with you shortly," the hostess smiled.

"Thank you," Ross said and she nodded before leaving. He turned to Rachel who had now taken a seat but was still staring out at the ocean. He knew she had always loved ocean views and by the look on her face, he had picked the perfect place for their date. "Hey Rach."

He got no response, which brought an amused look onto his face.

"Rachel."

Her head immediately spun back and she blushed slightly. "Sorry, I was caught up in the waves. The ocean's just so beautiful."

"Not as beautiful as you look tonight," he replied, making her blush deeper.

"Ross…"

"Here, I'll tell you what," he said, reaching over and gently taking her hand in his. "You order whatever you want and we enjoy ourselves during this dinner, and after I'll show you something I know you'll love."

Rachel smiled and nodded. "Ok, but what is it?"

"You'll find out later," Ross said, giving her hand a little squeeze before letting go to pick up his menu. "For now, let's figure out what to order."

She picked up her menu but put it down shortly after, looking across at Ross who caught her eye and slowly put down his own menu.

"What?" he asked, amused.

"Nothing," she said with a smile, pulling her menu back up as she heard him chuckle lightly.

…

Dinner had gone on extremely smoothly and Rachel loved every moment of it. The food was amazing, the scenery was beautiful, and the company was everything she wanted. After everything that had happened in the past few days, it was nice to finally have a night where they could talk and laugh with ease and just spend time together. Perhaps it wasn't the most romantic date, even with the romantic scenery around them, and it was clear there were still some bumps that had to be surpassed before they got back to how they used to be, but despite all that she still enjoyed herself with him and that was all she had wanted from tonight.

After dinner she and Ross walked hand-in-hand along the shoreline, taking in the magnificent view of the ocean. Her eyes trailed along the ocean waves, glimmering in the dimming sunlight, when she felt a pair of eyes on the back of her head. She turned around to see him looking at her with a large smile and she smiled back, leaning up on her toes so he could plant a soft kiss on her lips.

"So, what's this other thing you wanted to show me?" she asked, playfully swinging his hand in hers.

"You'll find out soon. We're headed there now," he responded.

She pouted. "What, more walking? Ross, these shoes have heels."

He simply laughed. "Don't worry, its close by. Now come on."

Ross picked up the pace of his walking speed, pulling her along with him. He led them away from the beach and back onto the streets, walking along the sidewalk parallel to the ocean. After a few minutes the view of the ocean disappeared as the path led them uphill and away from the water. Rachel still had no idea where he was taking her and was confused as to what he was planning on showing her when they suddenly stopped and they turned to a dirt path that led through some trees.

"It's just in there," Ross said, pointing towards the trees.

"What? Are you sure?"

He laughed again, gently pushing her ahead slightly. "Yes, I'm sure. Now go."

Timidly Rachel started following the small dirt path, making sure he was right behind her just in case. The path led her through the trees, which looked a lot taller and more intimidating than from the sidewalk, and she reached back for his hand. She felt him give her a little squeeze to urge her forward, and she did what she was told, continuing along the dirt path.

Surprisingly the path through the trees didn't last as long as she had thought, and as soon as they emerged from the miniature forest, Rachel's mouth dropped open.

The path had led them to a small, private beach that held a perfect view of the ocean that was even better than the one back at the restaurant. There was a small cliff that overlooked the water on one side and a few large rocks on the other, and the elevated height gave a further view of the sparkling water. The sun set perfectly in the middle of it all, its colours reflecting symmetrically along the water's surface, painting a perfect picture that engraved itself in her mind. There was a man off to the side taking pictures of the view with his camera and she wished she had brought her own to help savour the image.

"Wow," was all she could say in awe as he came to stand next to her, snaking his arm around her waist.

"Amazing, huh?"

"It's incredible," she breathed, turning to him. "What is this place?"

Ross shrugged. "I found it one day while I was on a walk and thought the trees made this place perfectly secluded for when I wanted to be alone. I come here sometimes when I want to clear my mind or when I want to get away from everything."

"And you're showing me something this special?" she wondered.

He smiled, tucking a strand of her hair behind her ear. "Well, you are special."

Rachel smiled back, the look of love sparkling in her eyes as she reached up and pulled him in for a deep, blissful kiss. He wrapped his arms around her waist and pulled her closer, holding the kiss for as long as they could, and when they broke they locked eyes and he slowly led them closer to the water's edge.

There, he watched as she took it all in, her beautiful aqua eyes locking with the ocean as the sunset made her entire body glow in light. He couldn't help but stare at her, wondering how someone could possibly be so beautiful to the point where they rivaled the sunset itself.

"Hey Rach," he said, getting her attention as he took her hands. "Listen, I know tonight probably wasn't as romantic as you wanted it to be, and I just wanted to say that-"

"No Ross, stop," she interrupted, cutting him off. She stared into his eyes and smiled. "There's no need for you to apologize or anything like that, ok? Maybe tonight wasn't super romantic but all I wanted was to spend time with you finally. I know there are still things we need to get past before things can go back to the way they used to be, and tonight was our first step. This date has been perfect so don't you dare hold that against you, ok?"

Ross sighed and a small smile appeared on his face. "Ok," he said, wrapping his arms around her.

"I love you," she said, just for some extra reassurance.

"I love you too."

They stood there, standing in each other's arms for a little while as they watched the beautiful scenery before them unfold. By this point the sun had formed a perfect semi-circle above the ocean's horizon, its rays kissing the water's surface as its lights ran across the waves. Ross stared at it all with a large smile on his face, happy that he was finally able to share something so special with someone equally as special to him. He took a deep breath and looked around, taking it all in, when he finally noticed the man with the camera off to the side.

Rachel felt him stir and she looked up at him. "What?"

"No, sorry, I just didn't see that guy over there," Ross answered, motioning towards the man. "I didn't expect anyone else to be here."

She thought for a moment, but then smiled. "Maybe it's not such a bad thing."

He raised an eyebrow. "What do you mean?"

Rather than answering, Rachel decided to show him, releasing herself from their embrace as she took a few steps towards the man.

"Hi, excuse me," she greeted, getting the man's attention. "I see you have a camera. Are you a photographer by any chance?"

The man smiled. "I am."

"That's great! If it's not too much to ask, could you to take our picture for us?"

The man looked from her to Ross, then back to her. "Sure, it would be my pleasure."

"Thank you so much!" Rachel exclaimed, taking Ross' hand and pulling him along before he could say anything as the photographer got into position.

"I can't believe you just asked a stranger to take our picture," Ross whispered, slightly amused.

"Oh shush, now just smile," she responded, standing next to him as they turned to the man.

"Alright, ready?" the photographer asked.

"Yup!"

She and Ross smiled widely as the camera light went off and took their picture. Rachel quickly changed her position, leaning further into Ross for the second picture and the light went off shortly after.

"Anything else?" the photographer asked.

"Just one more," Rachel replied.

She turned to Ross and faced him so the camera was now capturing their sides and before he said anything she quickly wrapped her arms around his neck and leaned up to capture his lips in a passionate kiss. She felt him smile into the kiss as he placed his hands on her waist, and a moment later they saw the light of the camera go off.

"Alright, thank you so much!" Rachel thanks again afterwards, approaching the man.

"It was no problem. After all, taking pictures of people is my profession."

Ross nodded and smiled, reaching into his jacket and removing his business card.

"You can send the photos to this email if you'd like," he said, handing the photographer the card.

"Sure, will do." The man accepted the business card, taking a look at it, but when he did his mouth dropped open. "Wait, you're Ross Gellar?"

"Yes, I am," he answered.

"Wow, it's an honour to meet you Dr. Gellar," the photographer immediately greeted, extending a hand for him to shake.

"No need for formality, just call me Ross," he said, accepting the handshake.

"Well, it's an honour to meet your Ross. I'm a huge fan of your work at the museum. I'm a little bit of a paleontology fan myself," the man explained.

Suddenly the man reached into his pocket and removed a pen, writing something on the back of Ross' business card. Afterwards, he turned his camera over and removed the memory card from its slot, handing them both back to Ross.

"Here, why don't you take the memory card and get the photos done yourself? It would be much easier than to transfer them from an email."

Ross looked down at the items in his hand. "Are you sure? Don't you have other photos saved on here?"

"No need to worry, I can always get those printed another time. You can mail me the memory card when you're finished," the man said.

"Well, thank you…" Ross took a look at the card in his hand. "…Carl, and thanks for taking our pictures."

"No need to thank me. It's not every day you get the chance to photograph a local celebrity," Carl smiled, checking his watch. "Oh, well I must be off now. It was a pleasure to meet you Ross, and your beautiful girlfriend as well."

"You too Carl," Ross replied as the two of them watched him leave the private beach.

Afterwards, Ross looked at the business and card and memory card again before stuffing them into his pocket. He turned around to see Rachel looking at him, an amused look on her face.

"What's so funny?" he asked.

"Nothing," she said, walking towards him and wrapping her arms around his neck. "Just enjoying being the girlfriend of a _local celebrity_."

"I guess it does have its perks," Ross joked, patting his jacket pocket. They shared a laugh before he wrapped and arm around her shoulders, leading them back to the dirt pack.

"Let's go home."

…

 **Author's Note: Hey guys, sorry for the late update. School caught up to me and I hadn't been able to focus on writing for the past week. I'm currently on a break though, so hopefully I'll be able to catch up on my writing so be sure to check in throughout the week because there may be a few more updates before the weeks' end.**

 **Hope you enjoyed.**


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter 14**

It was only a couple days later and the group of friends were hanging out in the kitchen and living room when Rachel emerged from her and Ross' bedroom. Before she walked out of the hallway however, she peeked around the corner to make sure Ross wasn't home. When she saw that he was at work, she smiled and strolled into the kitchen, playing with something in her hand.

As she approached the counter, she noticed that the TV was on and that a pretty heated debate was happening between Joey, Chandler, and Phoebe on one of the characters of the show they were watching. Monica was the only one who wasn't part of the argument, watching them from the kitchen and smiling. She wore an apron around her waist and the smell of freshly baked cookies wafted through the air.

"Rach, you should listen to these guys argue. It's pretty funny," Monica said when she saw her, pointing to the rest of the group.

She smiled. "No thanks, I don't really want to lose any brain cells today," she joked as she grabbed her purse that was sitting on the counter.

Monica noticed that, also taking notice to the jacket she was wearing and raised an eyebrow. "Are you going out?"

"Yeah, just for a bit," Rachel answered, swinging her purse over her shoulder as she played with the small object in her hand.

"Alone?" she continued to question. "Didn't Ross tell us not to go out by ourselves? Here, give me a few minutes and I'll go with you."

Rachel immediately waved her hand to tell her friend to stop. "No, no, it's ok. I'll be quick, don't worry."

Her response wasn't good enough though and Monica crossed her arms, looking at her sternly. "Rachel…"

"Ok, ok, fine. Look…" She lowered her voice so the others couldn't hear her. "…I wanted to get Ross a surprise gift, you know… to really show him how much I care. I think he's still having a hard time opening up to me so I thought getting him something special might help." She held up the item in her hand, a small black memory card, to further her case.

"Aww, that's so-"

"Shh!" Rachel hushed, shooting a few glances to the rest of the group who were still arguing. "I really want this to be a surprise so I don't want the others to know, otherwise they'll end up slipping up like they always do. That's also why you can't come with me; because if we both go, they'll ask questions."

Monica seemed to ponder what she had said and she could tell that she understood because she was slowly nodding her head. A few moments later she turned back to her and looked her in the eyes with that 'I'm going to regret letting you do this' look.

"I still think this is a bad idea Rach."

Rachel pouted and put on her best puppy dog look. "Please Mon? I'll be careful. I just… I really want us to work out this time. I love him so much and I don't want to lose him again. I'll be quick, I promise!"

"Ugh! Curse your love excuse…" Monica muttered. "One hour, tops!"

"How about two hours? I might do a little shopping myself…"

"Rachel!"

"I'm kidding," she smiled. "One hour is more than enough time. I'll be back before then."

"You better, because if Ross comes home and asks where you are, I don't know what I'm going to say," Monica warned. "And if he finds out I let you leave by yourself he's going to kill me, and so I'm going to kill you."

"And that won't happen," Rachel reassured, touching her friend's hand. She glanced at her watch and sat back up. "Ok, I'm going to leave now. It's already getting kind of late."

"Wait, I forgot to ask, where are you going?"

"Sorry, can't tell you," she practically sang.

"Rachel, you have to tell me where you're going so I know where you are," Monica continued to press.

"Nope, it's a secret remember?"

"Rachel…"

"Bye!" she exclaimed, turning around and starting for the door without answering her question.

Monica let out a groan, giving up. "One hour!" she repeated.

"Ok _mom_!"

Monica rolled her eyes and watched her slip out the front door. When Rachel had left, she found herself staring at the door with a sudden sinking feeling in her stomach. She let out a sigh.

Why did she have a bad feeling about this?

…

About half an hour later, Rachel smiled at the frame in her hands as she walked along the sidewalk.

It had taken her a little longer than expected to find a place that could print and frame pictures, but she had still managed to track down the only store in the city that did offer those things. After waiting a few minutes for the pictures to be printed, she chose out a nice dark wood frame to compliment the picture. As for the picture itself, she ended up choosing the one with them kissing in it as it was her favourite one, and even wrote a little something for him and signed her name.

 _He's going to love it,_ she thought as she continued her stroll. She could already imagine his face when she surprises him with it, and the kiss that'll follow.

Now, all she needed was some flowers and right now she was headed to a nearby florist she had spotted during the ride over.

Rachel turned the corner at the block's intersection and continued on her walk, unable to stop smiling at the picture frame in her hand. She lifted it up into the afternoon sun and blew off some dirt that had found its way onto the glass, smiling at her own reflection.

Perhaps if she was paying more attention she would have spotted the black car that seemed to be following her from behind, or perhaps she had seen it but her mind didn't take notice as she was too indulged with her own thoughts and fantasies. Either way, she wasn't aware of the car behind her and that was her first mistake.

Her second mistake came shortly after when she turned the corner again and the following car did the same. Up ahead, a man dressed in dark clothing was walking her way with his head down and his hat covering his features. This time she did take note of the man in front of her but didn't take enough time to notice that something was off about him, but she would find that out soon enough.

Just as they were crossing paths, the man suddenly removed his hand from his pocket and his elbow accidently shot out and clipped her on the shoulder. Rachel stumbled forward and dropped the picture frame from her hands.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. I wasn't watching where I was going." She was about to turn to make sure the man was ok when she noticed her gift for Ross lying face down on the ground and immediately she was alarmed that it might have broke. "My picture frame!"

Quickly she ran over to it, crouching down to pick it up. But just as she was about to grab it she felt someone grab her shoulder.

Hard.

"Ow! What the hell?" Rachel asked, spinning around to find the man she had bumped into grinning at her from above.

"You're coming with me," he stated and immediately she knew she was in trouble as her eyes widened in panic.

Everything that happened next happened so quickly.

As soon as she realised she recognized the man from somewhere she instinctively hit away his hand and tried to run the other way. Unfortunately his arm was quicker and he grabbed her around the waist to keep her from doing anything. She started yelling for help but all she got in return as a revving engine as the black car that had been following pulled up beside them and two other men got out.

Already yelling for someone to help her, she quickly tried to get her cell phone to call for the police. Realising her arms, she started rummaging through her purse for her cell phone but just as she felt the object at the bottom, one of the other men from the car came over and snatched her purse from her hands, carelessly tossing it into a nearby bush and kicking the picture frame over as well.

With tears in her eyes, Rachel started screaming at the top of her lungs and began thrashing wildly to get away from the three men's grasps. She somehow managed to get away from the man who had his arm around her waist, but as soon as she freed herself she was grabbed once again. She kicked the man who had grabbed her from behind between the legs and heard him grunt, but shortly after another pair of hands seized her arms and pinned them behind her back. Another came over and covered her mouth, muffling her cries for help.

Still struggling to get free and realising that her escape looked bleaker with every second that went by, all of a sudden a bag was thrown over her head, making everything go dark. The hand covering her mouth was removed, resulting in an ear-piercing scream that she could have sworn shattered their eardrums but that still didn't stop them from completely immobilizing her.

"Let go of me!" Rachel yelled, and a part of her begged for them to stop. Unfortunately that did nothing and suddenly she felt herself being picked up off the ground.

"Throw her in the car," commanded a harsh, familiar voice.

"NO!" she screamed again, squirming around. She heard a car door open and her eyes widened in fear. Moments later, she felt herself being tossed into the back seat and her head hit something hard.

And everything went black.

…

Monica stood in the kitchen, foot impatiently tapping on the ground as her glance constantly shifted from the front door to the clock on the wall. She wore an irritated look on her face and with her arms folded across her chest, it was clear that she was pissed off.

"Where is she?!" she asked out loud through clenched teeth.

It just so happened that her friends had just walked into the kitchen and immediately they all sensed her anxiety and irritation in the air.

"Rachel's still not back?" Joey asked, taking a seat at the counter.

"No, and it's been two and a half hours!" Monica exclaimed, pointing harshly at the clock. "Two and a half hours! She told me an hour tops! I'm going to kill her!"

"Isn't Ross supposed to come back home soon?" Phoebe pointed out. Wrong thing to say at the wrong time, as she was immediately given a death stare that made her go quiet.

"YES HE IS AND SHE'S NOT BACK!"

"Ok Mon, breathe," Chandler said, placing a hand on her shoulder as he tried to calm her down. She took a few moments to calm herself and she let out some air through her nose. "Did you try calling her cell?"

"I did, but I keep getting her voicemail. She must have turned it off."

"And why would she do that?" Joey asked and Monica looked at him annoyed.

"I don't know. Do I look like Rachel?" she asked sarcastically. She took another glance at the time and took another breath, not looking a lot more nervous than angry. "Ross is going to be home any moment and he's going to freak if he finds that Rachel's not home."

"Not to mention he's going to kill you for letting her go out on her own," Phoebe mentioned, earning another glare. "Sorry, I'll be quiet now."

"Ugh, what am I going to do?" Monica asked out loud, resting her elbows on the kitchen counter and burying her head in her hands.

"Hey, by the way, where did Rachel go anyways?" Chandler asked, making her pick her head back up.

"Yeah, all we saw were you two talking in the kitchen and then all of a sudden she left," Joey added.

"Honestly I don't know. She told me she was going to… run some errands but that was about it."

Before anyone said another word, all of a sudden the sound of a car door shutting came from outside and they all turned towards the front door. All of them had a look of worry on their faces but none more than Monica who suddenly had the colour drained from her face.

"Oh my God, that must be Ross! What am I going to do?" she started freaking.

"Ok, ok, uh… lie!" Chandler stumbled.

"What?"

"Lie! Tell him you don't know where she is so he doesn't get mad!"

"What? Chandler I can't do that!" Monica countered.

"You have to! I just realized he's going to kill all of us because we all saw her leave but didn't do anything about it!" he exclaimed. Just like that the colour drained from Joey and Phoebe's faces too.

"Monica you have to lie!" Joey suddenly shouted.

"Yes, lie like you've never lied before woman!" Phoebe yelled as well.

"No guys, I'm not going to-"

Before she could finish her sentence, the front door swung open and Ross stepped in. Whistling to himself, he set his briefcase down on a nearby table and walked into his house, only then noticing his friends looking at him from the kitchen.

"Oh, hey guys, didn't see you there," he greeted, walking over.

Joey laughed nervously. "Ha-uh, yeah, didn't see you there either…"

Ross raised an amused eyebrow. "Um… ok," he said, grabbing an apple off the counter. "So what have you guys been up to today?"

"Nothing!" Phoebe answered abruptly as her friends shot her a look. Ross' raised eyebrow remained.

"Ok… you guys are weird today." He took a bite of the apple. "Have you seen Rachel?"

All four of them shot each other nervous looks.

"She's in the bathroom!" Chandler suddenly said, realising if none of them said something Ross would notice something was wrong. Instead he nodded and shrugged.

"Alright, well I'm going to go change," he said, finishing off the apple before walking to his bedroom.

As soon as he disappeared in the hallway, the four friends all simultaneously let out a sigh of relief. It was only temporary though as they realised he was going to come back soon and they needed something to say.

"Guys, I have to tell him," Monica said, looking incredibly guilty.

"No you can't! We'll all get in trouble and I don't like Ross when he's mad," Joey responded.

"Well we can't keep lying and pretending like she's here!"

"Sure we can! He bought the Rachel in the bathroom thing, didn't he?" Chandler pointed out.

"Oh, and you don't think he'll get a little bit suspicious when she's been in there all night?" Monica questioned.

"Hey, sometimes people take a long time to do their business!"

Moments after, Ross reappeared from the bedroom, looking as if he was searching around the house.

"Hey, I just checked my bathroom and there's nobody in there," he said in a confused tone.

Monica immediately shot Chandler a tone and he read her facial expression clearly as it suddenly dawned on him too. If Rachel was going to use a bathroom, chances are she'd probably use the one she and Ross were now sharing.

"Uh, of course, because she's in the other bathroom," Joey jumped in, motioning towards the second bathroom on the main floor.

Ross looked where he was motioning and his confusion increased. "You mean the bathroom that has the door wide open?"

"No, no, what he _meant_ to say was that Rachel upstairs using our bathroom," Phoebe suddenly came in, saving Joey from the mistake he just made.

"Why would she use that one?"

"Ross, Ross, Ross," she said, shaking her head as she patted his back. "You never ask a woman where she uses the bathroom."

He raised an eyebrow but shook it off. "Ok, well I'm going to go ask her if she wants to go out tonight."

Chandler's eyes widened. "No thanks, I'm good," he said in panic, standing in front of him to block his way.

"Is your name Rachel?" Ross asked.

"Sorry," he said, raising his hand. "What I mean Is that Rachel politely declines your offer and suggests you just eat here tonight."

Ross looked at him, then turned to look at everyone else who shared the same nervous smile on their face. "Did you guys all eat something today? You're all acting so weird," he said. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to go ask my girlfriend and not her messenger if she wants to go on a date tonight."

He pushed past Chandler and started walking towards the stairs when Joey ran forward and stepped in front of him.

"No you can't!"

"I can't?"

"Yeah because… bad gas, you know?" Joey said, plugging his nose and waving his hand in front of his face as if there was a bad smell lingering in the air.

"Ok, that's enough," Ross said, walking by him and starting up the stairs.

And he was right. Monica had enough.

"Ross, wait."

"What is it this time?" he turned around, clearly annoyed at this point.

"Y-yeah Mon, unless it's important you shouldn't say anything," Joey said as he and the other two friends shot her a panicked look, but she just shook her head.

"No, I have to," she said, turning to Ross. "Rachel's not here."

"Yeah, I know. She's upstairs, now if you would just let me go up and see her-"

"No Ross, you don't get it," Monica interrupted. "She's not here. She went out."

Ross' eyes widened. "What? What do you mean by out? You mean out back?"

"No, I mean she's out in the city."

"Rachel's out in the city alone?!" Ross shouted, making all his friends flinch. "Did I not make it clear that it's not safe to be walking around alone?! That wasn't a joke, this is serious!"

"Hey, we understood it!" Joey exclaimed in panic, not wanting Ross to get angry at him again. "It was Monica who let her go out by herself!"

She immediately shot Joey a death glare before slowly turning to her brother whose facial expression was a mix of anger and disbelief.

"You let Rachel go out alone?!"

"I'm sorry!" Monica burst out apologizing. "I was busy in the kitchen, and she was saying she'd be quick and she'd only be gone an hour, and before I knew it she'd already been two and a half hours!"

"Monica!"

"Yeah Monica, how could you," Chandler said, shaking his head. Ross turned to him.

"Don't think you all are off the hook either. Why didn't you stop her when you saw her leave?"

Chandler, Joey, and Phoebe all looked at each other and they each gulped, looking down with guilt plastered on their faces.

Ross shook his head in disappointment and turned back to his sister, who wore the most guilty look of them all. "Ok, so where is she?"

Monica shuffled her feet. "I… I don't know…"

"What? Did you not at least ask her where she was going?"

"Hey, this time that's not my fault!" Monica countered. "Your girlfriend refused to tell me where she was going because she was preparing a surprise for you and didn't want me to spoil it. And it's also why she didn't tell the others because she thought they'd slip up."

Ross took this information in slowly, taking a few moments to calm his anger. Monica was right, it wasn't all her fault and getting angry wasn't going to get them anywhere. If Rachel had been gone for so long and still hasn't returned, he had to act, and he had to act fast.

Quickly he walked over to the phone in the kitchen, punching in her number in hopes she'd pick up. Unfortunately only after a few beeps he got her voice mail and he slammed the phone back down, cursing silently.

"I already tried calling her like a million times but I also kept getting her voicemail," Monica said timidly, still unsure if her brother was pissed off at her.

"Forget it," he said, quickly grabbing his jacket from a chair. "We have to go find her."

"In the city? That'll take hours!" Chandler exclaimed.

"I don't care, we have to find her!" Ross snapped, and all his friends saw his emotions on display in his eyes. "I can't let anything happen to her. Now let's go! Pair up and I'm going to drop you off around the city."

With a simple nod, the four friends quickly grabbed their own jackets and silently followed Ross out the door, him slamming the door behind him.

He had to find her.

…

Hours later the friends met back up in front of a plaza where they had agreed to meet before their search had started. Ross had been the last to arrive, haven spent some extra time driving around and looking for that familiar blonde, but it to no avail.

"Anything?" was the first thing he asked as he approached the group. Each of them held a sorrowful look on their faces and he knew the news wasn't going to be good.

"Sorry Ross, we couldn't find her," Monica said, shaking her head. "Alexa and Stephen didn't have better luck either."

"Yeah, and Morgan's working but she had Carla look around the neighbourhood. Nothing so far," Phoebe added.

"Same with Nate and Henry, and of course we looked all over but didn't see her," Chandler reported, with Joey nodding as well.

"What about Scott and Lauren?"

Ross shook his head. "They're still looking and they said if they find her they'll let me know."

He ran his hand through his hair, letting out a sound of frustration before turning around and punching a tree, making all his friends flinch.

"Damn it, I need to find her!"

"Ross, you've got to calm down," Phoebe said, motioning to his hand that was now red. "We all want to find her and hurting yourself isn't going to help."

Ross exhaled deeply and nodded his head. "You're right Pheebs."

"You know, maybe we've been looking in the wrong places," she said, turning to Monica. "Mon, you were the one to talk to her last. Did she mention anything about where she was going to be?"

Monica shook her head. "No, all she said was she was going to get Ross a gift and that she was going into the city."

"Ok, well is there anything she said that can help us?"

"I don't think so…" Monica paused and took another second to think, and then suddenly she remembered something. "Wait, it's not what she said but I remember something she had! She showed me this little black thing in her hand when she talked about the gift she was planning."

"Hold on," Ross suddenly interrupted, stopping her. "Little black thing?"

"Yeah, I don't know how to describe it… it was kind of rectangular, thin, about this big," Monica explained, holding up her fingers to show her estimated size.

All of a sudden Ross' eyes widened as something clicked in his mind. "I know what that is! Quick, follow me!"

Without another word he turned and started walking towards the parking lot. The friends looked at each other and shared a confused look, but quickly followed suit.

…

Sure enough, Ross was right. He had guessed from Monica's description of the object Rachel had been holding as the small memory card they had received from the photographer who took their photos on their date a few days ago. That led to him realizing that Rachel must have taken it to have the photos printed and possibly framed, and knowing that there was only one store in the city that did that, he quickly drove across town as fast as possible

After reaching the store, he had gone in and talked to the owner, who confirmed that Rachel had been there to get some photos done and one of them framed, and using that information the gang started searching around the neighbourhood to see if they could spot her anywhere.

It was getting dark as the sun had just set and the streets lights were beginning to turn on. The gang was still walking around, with Ross leading the way, and though most of them were tired and seemed like all hope was lost, he kept trudging forward. He had to find her. If anything happened to her, he has no idea what he'd do.

"Ross," he heard Chandler say from behind him. He stopped and turned around to see that his friends had fallen behind and were still a couple feet away.

"You guys need to hurry up," he urged, starting to turn back around.

"Ross, we've been walking for hours," Joey said, trying not to whine but obviously drained of energy. "Don't you think we can look for her tomorrow?"

"No!" Ross stood firm. "Look, I have to find her. I don't care how long it takes, I can't stop searching and I won't."

"Ross-"

"Look, if you guys want to go home, that's fine, but I'm staying here. This isn't some lost dog, its Rachel. I need to find her."

"No Ross, that's not what I was going to say," Monica said, pointing at something nearby. "Look, what's that?"

Ross turned around and followed her finger to see what she was pointing at. Off to the side, hidden in a bush, something seemed to glimmer in the moonlight. Slowly he walked towards the bush, crouching down to see what it was, and when he pulled it out his breath got caught in his throat.

What he found was a framed picture of him and Rachel on that beach during the sunset. The glass was cracked and the moon had glimmered off the glass' edge. Also seemingly thrown into the bush was a black purse which he recognized as Rachel's, but at the moment, all he could do was stare at the framed picture in disbelief and agony.

"What'd you find Ross?" he heard Chandler ask as the others approached his crouched down figure.

"Wait, isn't that Rachel's purse?" Phoebe pointed out and Monica picked it up. Suddenly her eyes widened.

"Oh my God, it is!" She opened it up and checked inside, giving Phoebe a nod to confirm that it was their friend's purse.

"What is Rachel's purse doing in a bush?" Joey asked. They all thought about it for a moment, and one by one all their eyes started to widen.

"No, something must have happened to her," Monica determined, gasping into her hands.

"Hey, come on, we don't know that for sure," Chandler said, still trying to stay positive. "Right Ross?"

Slowly he stood back up, keeping his back to his friends. He held the frame tightly in his hands as they seemed to shake.

"No, it's true. She's gone."

"What?"

He turned around and showed the group the cracked picture frame, and he could literally see all their heart's break as soon as they saw it. His friends were speechless and the looks on their faces said it all. He opened his mouth to say something, but nothing came out and all he could do was hold back tears that threatened his eyes.

"Rachel!" he suddenly spun around, yelling, as his eyes desperately searched the streets in front of him. "Rachel! Rachel, can you hear me? Rachel!"

He knew it was useless. She was gone, and though his mind refused to accept it, he knew it was true. He looked down at the cracked picture frame and ran a finger over Rachel picture, and that simple action made him fall to his knees as he held back all his streams of emotions.

He could sense his friends looking at him with sad, sympathetic looks but he knew neither of them could make the situation any better.

"Fuck!" he shouted out, punching the ground as small hints of tears appeared in his eyes.

He stared at the cracked frame and suddenly noticed writing on the image. Though there were glass shards in the way, he brushed them aside just enough for him to make out the words.

 _Ross, no matter what happens, past, present, or future, I'll always love you._

 _~ Rachel_

"No…" he whispered out loud, finally letting a tear slip down and fall onto the broken glass.

This couldn't be happening. The love of his life was gone, and now he felt like he had nothing left.

"Rachel!"

…

 **Author's Note: Sorry to those who didn't want something to happen to Rachel. But come on, something had to happen if the story was to move forward. It's also a little cliché but whatever.**

 **Hope you enjoyed nonetheless and leave a review down bellow. Thanks.**


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

It was dark.

It was cold.

And she was sitting on something hard.

Rachel eyes suddenly shot open and she gasped for breath as she woke in a place unfamiliar to her. The back of her head throbbed and her eyes took a few minutes to adjust to the dark area, with the only bit of light coming from the moon peering through small cracks above.

She groaned from the pain in her head, lifting her hand to check for a bump when she suddenly had it jerked back, followed by a slight pain in her wrist. Looking down, she was shocked to find herself bounded to a hard metal chair by a tightly wrapped rope, keeping her arms and legs from moving. She tried jerking her arms to get them loose but the rope wouldn't budge and its rough texture left a slight burn across her skin the more she moved.

She was both shocked and scared out of her mind, thinking maybe this was a horrible nightmare, and she was about to scream at the top of her lungs when her memories rushed back to her. It was fuzzy, slightly due to the throbbing in her head, but it was clear enough for her to make out the pieces.

She had been kidnapped. Grabbed off the streets and thrown into a car, she had been taken to what appeared to be an abandoned warehouse. She didn't know where she was or how long she's been here, or even why she had even been taken in the first place, but she had a feeling she knew who her kidnappers were.

"Let me out!" she yelled out into the darkness, ignoring the roughness of the rope as she continued trying to get herself free. She had never been kidnapped before, obviously, and though she was trying her best to remain calm she was freaking out inside.

"So, you're finally awake."

The voice came from her right and she turned to see a figure emerge from the shadows into a beam of moonlight. Even through the darkness she could make out the unforgettable features of the person; the tattoos that covered his neck and arms, the lit cigar firmly held between his fingers, and the golden tooth that glimmered through his disgusting grin.

The man only known as Blaine.

"You've been out for so long we thought you might have been dead," he snickered, walking further into the light so his sneering face was now showing.

"What the hell do you want from me?!" Rachel spat out, trying to seem un-intimidated by him when really she was shaking on the inside.

"What do we want from you? No, no, _Rachel_ , there is nothing we want from _you_ ," Blaine responded, emphasising her name as if to mock her as he stepped closer. "It's what we want from that boyfriend of yours."

"Then why'd you kidnap me?!"

He laughed. "Silly little girl. To get what we want we first need Ross to come to us, and to do that we need bait."

Rachel's eyes immediately widened. "Leave Ross alone and let me go!" she yelled, thrashing around in her chair.

"Not until we get what we want," he grinned, getting so close to her that she could smell the smoke on his breath. He lifted a finger and touched her cheek. "You are far prettier up close."

She jerked away from him as a shiver went down her back. "Stay away from me you fucking bastard!"

"Come on now, there's no need for that language or tone," Blaine said, firmly grabbing her chin and pushing her head back a little. "Man, the things I want to do to you…"

Rachel couldn't help but gulp as she saw the hunger in his eyes. She tried jerking away but he had a firm grip on her head.

A moment passed and she held back tears, fearing what he would do to her, but to her surprise he suddenly let go of her.

"You're lucky Enrico said to keep you in one piece because believe me, if it were up to me you'd be on the floor begging for me to stop," Blaine sneered, sending another shiver down her back.

He started to turn around when Rachel spoke up.

"So, you're nothing but a lap dog to Enrico, huh?"

She wasn't even sure why she had said that but she knew she wanted to keep her cool front so Blaine didn't know how scared she really was. Regardless, Blaine spun around and looked at her with a mix of confusion and anger.

"What did you say to me?"

"I said you're just Enrico's lap dog, doing everything he says."

In one large step that caught her off guard, Blaine was right back next to her, grabbing her face again as he gave her a menacing look.

"I am no lap dog and you better watch your mouth," he said, gripping her face a little harder.

Rachel looked down at his hand and back at him. Then suddenly she shifted and loosened his grip, biting down hard on his hand.

"Ow, you little bitch!" Blaine exclaimed, reeling back.

"I told you not to touch me."

Anger boiled in his eyes and he lifted a hand up to slap her, to which she flinched back instantly. But right before his hand made contact he stopped, taking a breath before letting out a chuckle.

"Nice try," he said, lowering his hand. "I'm no lap dog but the last thing I want to do is get onto Enrico's bad side, and unfortunately for you you're already on his bad side for getting involved with Ross."

Rachel narrowed her gaze, ignoring the nervous up-tempo beat of her heart. "And what's that supposed to mean?"

"You'll find out eventually," Blaine chuckled, turning away as her heart sped up.

Rachel watched as he walked away, hoping he would leave so she could stop feeling so on edge. Instead, Blaine walked over to a table she hadn't noticed in a corner of the dark warehouse. For a second, she was afraid he was assembling a set of torture weapons, as one would in a movie, and the longer he stood there the more she started to sweat, fearing for her life. Finally when he started to turn around, her breath got caught in her throat, but she was surprised to find not a weapon in his hand but a bowl, which raised her confusion further.

"What is that?" she asked worryingly as he approached her with the bowl.

"It's your dinner," Blaine answered coldly, lowering the bowl to show her that it was just a bowl of cereal and milk.

"I'm not hungry," Rachel responded, but following her words her stomach let out a growl and only then did she realize how hungry she really was.

He let out a mocking laugh. "That sound tells me you are. Now eat."

"How do I know you didn't poison this?" she asked, carefully eyeing the bowl of cereal. The more she looked at it though, the more she felt her stomach cry out for food. She had never craved a bowl of cereal more in her life.

"Why would I poison you when you're already tied up in a chair? I told you I've gotta keep you in one piece, otherwise I wouldn't be giving you food in the first place."

Rachel looked from the food to him then back to the food. It looked so good and she was so hungry, but could she trust that he didn't do anything to it?

No, she couldn't take that chance.

She opened her mouth to reject the possibly tainted food, when suddenly her stomach growled once more. She reeled back, feeling the wave of hunger run through her body making her feel incredibly weak, and that's when she caved.

"Fine," she said, not looking him in the eyes. "Can I get a spoon at least?"

Blaine blew air out of his nose, clearly taking her request as a joke. "What do you think this is? A bed and breakfast? This is all you get, take it or leave it."

Sucking up all her dignity, Rachel put her head down and slowly nodded. In turn, Blaine smirked, raising the bowl of cereal to her mouth. He slowly started to tilt it to her slightly parted lips but at the last moment he moved it away, holding the bowl directly below her chin instead.

She looked at him with an annoyed face while he seemed to be enjoying every bit of this.

"What this time?" she asked, trying to keep her rage inside because she wanted that food and was afraid he might take it away if she insulted him.

"Eat it like a dog, like the little bitch you are."

Rachel's eyes widened and she was shocked, but looking up she saw that he was serious. She looked down at her food, feeling her stomach beg for mercy, and she closed her eyes as a single tear fell from her eyes.

The next few moments were the most humiliating moments of her life. She could feel his cold eyes watching her as she lapped the milk and cereal into her mouth, taking in as much as she could so that this horrific moment could end. She didn't even want to know what she looked like. All she cared about was getting something into her stomach so she didn't starve.

It didn't take long for her to clean the bowl of cereal and when she was finally done she kept her head down, breathing heavily to catch her breath. Suddenly she felt her hair being pulled and her head shot up, seeing the smirking face of Blaine watching the milk around her mouth drip to the floor.

"Was that so hard?" he mocked, letting go of her hair. She wiped her mouth on her shoulder before turning back to him with a dirty look.

"Fuck off," she said, spitting on his shoes.

Blaine just laughed. "Who's the lap dog now?" he mocked, patting her head. He then turned around, tossing the bowl onto the table in the corner before walking towards a pair of large metal doors.

Before he left however, he turned back around and gave her a smirk.

"You'll see your boyfriend soon, and so will we."

With that, he walked out the door, closing it behind him with a slam that echoed through the dark warehouse.

Watching him leave, when she knew she was alone Rachel finally let her emotions out as tears started streaming down her face and sobs escaped her lips. How was she going to get out of this mess? Is she even going to get out of here alive? Would she ever see Ross again?

She was living out one of her worst nightmares and there was no one around who could help her. Even Ross didn't know where she was and she wasn't even sure if he knew what happened to her.

She was on her own and could possibly die alone without ever seeing the people she loved the most again, and that's what scared her to death.

"Ross…" she cried out into the night. "…please help me…"

…

The door swung open and Ross and his friends walked into his home, though the last 24 hours felt like anything but. What was once a place where he could at least relax and calm his thoughts was now just a cold, empty space. Without her, this place was just nothing.

Ross' day had been one of the worst he's ever lived through up until this point, and that's saying a lot considering the things he's been through. He had skipped work to search around the city for Rachel to see if he could find her somewhere, even though he knew it was a lost cause and that's exactly how it turned out. Every block he searched was just more disappointment and failure for him to deal with, and even when Lauren, who had been incredibly worried about him, had somehow managed to find him and kept him company for a few hours, he still felt alone and heartbroken.

This morning he had even almost turned back to using his anti-depressants, but he stopped himself shortly after grabbing the bottle. Rachel wouldn't want him to turn back to drugs and so for her, he wouldn't turn back to his former demons.

As he continued to think back to how his day had gone the rest of his friends walked in from the front door, pausing when they saw him hunched over on the counter staring off into space. Ever since he had picked them up from the beach he had been like this; silent and not saying a word. Even the simplest of small talk couldn't get through to him, and though they understood why as Rachel's disappearance had affected all of them, it seemed like he had taken it the worse and for good reason.

Sharing a look, the four friends nodded to each other, knowing it was time for them to step in. The last thing they need is for Ross to seriously take this situation to heart, both for his and Rachel's sake.

"Um… so Ross, did you find any clues to where Rachel is?" Chandler asked, jumping right to the point. Ross snapped out of his thoughts, turning to him with almost a glare.

"No."

Chandler gulped and took a step back, letting Phoebe take over. "But, uh, didn't you say you knew what happened to her?"

Suddenly Ross' fist came down onto the counter as he ran a hand through his hair in frustration. "That bastard Enrico took her, I just know it. He took her and now I don't know what to do. It's my fault… it's all my fault…"

Monica slowly walked over to him and rubbed his shoulders. "Ross, it's not your fault. If you're going to blame anyone, blame me. You can't blame yourself, ok? We're going to find Rachel and bring her back."

"Don't say that."

She was taken aback by his snap answer. "What?"

"I said don't say that," Ross repeated, shaking his head as he stared at the ground. "You don't know that. Don't pity me with those false senses of hope because I know they're not true."

"Come on Ross," Joey entered, trying to give Monica some back-up. "You can't give up. We'll find her and everything will be all ri-"

"No!" he suddenly spun around shouting. "What do you not understand? This isn't some TV show! This is real life! He's going to kill her! I've seen him do it before and he won't hesitate to do it again!"

Silence followed Ross' sudden outburst as his friends seemed frozen in shock. He looked at all their faces and sighed, finally letting himself cool down.

"…I'm sorry…" he said quietly, rubbing his forehead. "…This has been really hard to deal with and I shouldn't be taking it out on you."

"It's ok, we understand," Monica said softly, walking beside her brother and gently rubbing his back. She felt his body relax slightly, which was a good sign, and he let out a sigh.

"I think I'm just going to go to my room to lie down. Go ahead and have dinner without me."

"Are you sure?" Phoebe asked, unsure if that's a smart idea.

"Yeah, I just need some time alone," Ross answered and without another word, he slowly headed for his bedroom, disappearing into the hallway.

The group of friends watched him leave and as soon as he was gone, they turned to each other.

"Wow, that was, uh… something," Chandler said.

"Yeah, he's taking it really hard," Joey added.

"Obviously he would. He just got out of his depression and he just started getting better with Rachel's help and now all of a sudden she's been kidnapped," Phoebe pointed out.

"I can't imagine what he's going through right now," Chandler commented, taking a seat. "Let's just hope he gets better soon." Monica nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, because if anyone's going to save Rachel, it's going to be him."

…

 **Author's Note: Sorry, kind of a crappy chapter near the end. I've been busy lately but this story is going to end soon anyways so I'm going to force myself to get these last chapters out as soon as possible. Hope you enjoyed and leave a review. Thanks.**


	16. Chapter 16

**Author's Note: You guys know that when I put an Author's Note before the chapter, it's pretty serious. I just want all of you to know that I never planned on missing over a month of writing. Last month I had been incredibly busy, and not just busy, but seriously busy. There were some nights where I didn't even sleep because I had so much work to do, so even though I so badly wanted to catch up on my writing, I just had absolutely no time to do so.**

 **That being said, in no means do I plan on taking a break, nor am I planning on stopping my writing. Chapters will hopefully be coming out "on time", and there will soon be a new story up as soon as this one ends.**

 **Anyways, sorry for missing so much time and I hope you guys enjoy the chapter. :D**

 **Chapter 16**

The front door was slowly pushed open as Ross silently entered through, gently closing it behind him. The sound caught the attention of his friends, who all turned from the kitchen to see him enter with a solemn look on his face. They watched him sympathetically as he kept his head down, placing his briefcase down and hanging up his jacket.

The poor guy looked as though he had the life drained out of him, and who could blame him after all that's happened in these past few days?

Ross made his way into the kitchen, finally looking up when he neared the counter, where it seemed like he was almost surprised to find four pairs of eyes watching him intently. He simply gave them all a blank look and continued on to wash his hands in the sink.

"So, how was work?" Monica asked, trying to ease them into a conversation.

"I didn't go."

"What? Ross, you said you would go to work today."

"Yeah, well plans change." He dried off his hands on a nearby towel and looked up to see his sister looking at him with her arms crossed.

"Then if you didn't go to work, where were you all day?" Monica questioned.

"I went to be alone for a little while."

"And where exactly was that?"

"Somewhere."

Monica let out a groan. "Ross, you haven't been to work in the past couple of days. You can't keep blowing it off like this."

"Yes I can. I don't see anyone trying to stop me," Ross responded, slightly annoyed.

"Oh? And what if they fire you?" she persisted, lowering her eyebrows.

"They won't fire me. Scott's covering for me anyways."

"Ross, it's not the same! You have to go in and-"

"Could you just get off my back?" Ross suddenly snapped, cutting her off. "Since when did you become my mom?"

Silence felt through the group as they stared at Monica, afraid at how badly she was about to react. Her face flashed a hint of anger that got all of them to flinch back, but suddenly she calmed down, letting out a sigh.

"I'm going to let that slide because I know you're hurting right now," Monica said slowly, watching her brother closely. "But I can't keep watching you throw away everything you've worked for."

"Mon's right," Chandler added, as Phoebe and Joey nodded in agreement. "You can't let what happened affect your responsibilities and the rest of your life man. We know it's tough, but not going to work isn't going to help the situation."

Silence followed as Ross seemed to be lost in his own thoughts, before letting out a deep sigh, running a hand through his hair. Truthfully he knows that skipping work isn't right. He hadn't even bothered to call in and he knew the museum wasn't going to be happy, but the truth was he just couldn't work. He just didn't have the energy or the motivation to go in. Not while Rachel's still out there being held captive somewhere, maybe tortured, or worse.

He knew his friends were right, but how can someone just pretend that nothing's wrong when the love of their life has been taken by their worst enemy? He just couldn't do it.

Ross rubbed his forehead. "I know you guys are right, but I just can't. I'm not in the right state of mind to be able to work, or do much of anything else right now. With Rachel gone it's like… it's like a part of me is missing, and I … I don't know what to do."

"Ross, we'll figure something out. We'll figure out a plan to get Rachel back," Monica encouraged.

"No, but that's just it. There is no plan. There's nothing more to figure out," he responded in a sad, dejected tone. "Scott and I have thought about everything possible and the only option we have is to give in to Enrico."

"What? Ross, you can't do that!" Phoebe exclaimed.

Ross looked down at the ground, as if he had already given up. "Honestly, I think I might have to. I'll do anything to get Rachel back. That includes giving in to Enrico's demands…"

The room fell silent once more. His friends couldn't believe he was willing to just give up like that. It was clear Ross thought he had hit rock bottom but as his friends, they refused to let him give up without a fight.

Hoping to move the conversation elsewhere, Joey spoke up.

"Hey Ross, could we see the case you took from Enrico?"

Ross instantly looked up in surprise and shock as the other friends stared at Joey, bewildered he would even ask that.

"What?"

"Well I mean, you've never shown us what the case or the drug inside, and I think we're all kind of curious to what it looks like. Am I right?" Joey continued, motioning to the other friends for confirmation. And though they all still looked bewildered, there were small hints of curiosity on their faces as well.

Ross looked at each of his friends one by one before letting out another sigh. "Alright, I'll show you the case. Give me a second."

He disappeared down the hallway towards his bedroom and a few minutes later, he reappeared holding a large grey case in his hand. He walked over to the kitchen counter where his friends made room, and he carefully put it down.

"You guys want to see what it looks like? Well here it is," Ross said, before clicking off the locks and opening the case up.

The friends looked over his shoulder in awe as in the case was a single syringe. Contained in the syringe was a strange, dark green substance; the cause of all their current problems. In truth, the syringe didn't look as menacing or intimidating as they had thought, however knowing at what lengths Enrico had gone just to obtain this, it was obvious the case was nothing to mess with.

"So this is it, huh?" Chandler asked, staring at the green liquid inside the syringe.

"Yes, this is the drug Enxanthropha, the only one in existence and the thing Enrico's been after all this time."

"Wow… its kind of… mesmerizing…" Joey said, unknowingly reaching out his hand. Before he could touch anything however, Ross' hand shot out and grabbed his wrist, stopping him.

"What do you think you're doing?" he questioned.

"Sorry, it was just an instinct," Joey said, reeling back his arm quickly. Ross simply shook his head.

"Alright, I think that's enough. I'm going to put it away before someone does something stupid," he said, sending a quick glance towards Joey as he closed the case and locked it up.

As he picked up and began back towards the hallway, he noticed the little red blinking light on his answering machine, telling him he had some missed messages. He pointed to it and turned to his friends.

"Did you guys check the machine when you got home?"

Monica looked at the others before turning back and shaking her head. "Nope, those must be from today."

Ross walked over to his answering machine and pressed a button to begin playing his messages out loud.

 _*BEEP * You have 3 missed messages._

 _*BEEP*_

" _Ross, it's Donald from the museum. I noticed that you weren't here this morning and I was wondering if you were planning on coming in today. You've missed the last couple of days and I don't recall you asking for time off. I know Scott has been filling in for you but it would be best if you call in to let us know if you need days off and if you need anymore. Thanks."_

 _*BEEP*_

Ross noticed his sister shoot him a look in the corner of his eye but he just ignored it. He'll call in later.

 _*BEEP*_

" _Hey Ross? It's Lauren… Scott told me you skipped work again today, probably to walk around the city again? I'll come join you again Ross, we'll walk around together like we did the other day. Please call me back. I'm really worried about you Ross."_

 _*BEEP*_

Ross felt a slight sense of guilt after hearing Laruen's message. She's the one who's been reaching out to him the most ever since Rachel was kidnapped. She would talk, listen, and often just walk with him in silence, just to keep him company for no other reason than to support him. He felt bad for pushing her away these past few days and he knew he owed her an apology.

Then… the final message came up.

 _*BEEP*_

"… _ **You know who this is.**_ _"_

As soon as that voice echoed through the silent kitchen, Ross' somber expression instantly turned tense and he turned all his attention to the answering machine. All his friends did the same, only their eyes were widened with shock and fear as the message played on.

" _ **Ross, I want you to listen very carefully. If you ever want to see that little girlfriend of yours again, you will bring me my case to the Dealer's Alleyway at 8:00 PM sharp. You will come alone, and you will come unarmed.**_ _"_

" _ **This is your only chance Ross. At 8:00, I shoot her.**_ _"_

Ross looked at the time on the clock.

7:45

The line dropped dead and Ross was left staring at his answering machine, completely expressionless as his face had almost gone pale. His friends looked from him, to the answering machine, then back to him; stunned, distressed, and terrified.

After a few minutes of dead silence, Monica was the first to speak up.

"Ross you can't," she said, her voice wavering with fear.

"…I have to…"

"You can't!" Monica yelled, her eyes starting to become a little glossy.

"I have to!" Ross suddenly turned around and yelled, his face flushed with internal conflict and stress. "It's… it's the only way to save her…"

"Ross, don't you see how obvious of a trap this is?" Chandler entered the plea for him not to go. "If you go, he'll kill you!"

"But if I don't, they'll kill her," he said, turning around and grabbing his jacket off a nearby chair.

"No you can't!" Monica yelled, trying to stop him by grabbing onto his arm but he just shook her off.

"Ross, you don't even know if they'll let her go!" Phoebe shouted. "What if you go and they kill you and Rachel?"

"Yeah, Ross, you need to think this through!" Joey exclaimed. "There has to be another way!"

"No, there's no other way. This is the only option, and I'm willing to risk it all to save Rachel," Ross stated, grabbing the case and heading for the front door.

"Ross, please! You can't do this!" Monica begged, tears in her eyes as she tried her hardest to stop her brother from leaving. "Losing Rachel is hard enough, but I can't lose both of you! Please! We'll find another way to save her!"

Ross just shook his head sadly. "I'm sorry," is all he said, before ripping his arm away from his sister and leaving out the front door.

"NO!" Monica screamed, quickly running to the front door after him, but when she threw it open Ross was already in the car, starting up the engine. "NO!"

She quickly ran back inside where the others looked equally as panicked. None more than her however, as tears were now falling down her eyes.

"Monica, what are we going to do?" Chandler asked, his voice filled with fear.

"Where's the phone? Get me the phone!" she yelled, shaking as she scanned the kitchen for the landline.

"Here! It's right here!" Phoebe quickly responded, grabbing the phone off the table and giving it to Monica.

With her eyes continuing to water and her clearly trying to hold back sobs, she aggressively punched in a number on the phone and held it up to her ear with a shaky hand.

"Scott! I need your help!"

…

Ross pulled into the dark alleyway, slowly advancing through the familiar lane.

The Dealer's Alleyway.

He held many memories of this place, all of which he is not proud of and would prefer to forget. The alleyway was the perfect place for drug deals to take place. It was large for an alleyway which led to an even larger center. Many smaller passageways led in different directions, providing a perfect escape if necessary. And all of this was shrouded in the shadows of the adjacent buildings, hiding it completely from the public eye.

He had done many deals here, and hopefully today would be his last.

Stopping his car on the side, he slowly got out with the case and walked quietly into the center of the Dealer's Alleyway. Though he was shaking on the inside, he was all serious on the outside and wore a dead-panned look on his face.

He was here for a reason.

To bring Rachel back.

"Well, well, look who showed up, and right on time too."

The voice immediately made him narrow his eyebrows as he spun around. There was Enrico, grinning at him in the darkness with his two henchmen beside him, all of them holding guns. A familiar black car was parked a few feet away as well but he didn't focus on that too much as his attention was on the person who got him into this entire situation.

"Where is she?" Ross demanded, not wanting to waste any time.

"Who?" Enrico smiled.

"Don't play games with me! You know who! Where's Rachel?"

Enrico frowned. "Don't forget who's holding all the cards in this deal Ross. Have you forgotten what I had taught you?"

Ross remained quiet and Enrico began motioning to his clothes.

"Show me you're unarmed."

Keeping his eyes on the gang leader, Ross did was he was told, first showing his pockets, then rolling up his pant legs. He hadn't brought a weapon with him anyways and after he showed that he was empty, Enrico nodded.

"Good." He turned to one of his henchmen, then to the car. "Get the girl."

The man walked over to the side of the driver's door and gave a little nod. A moment later it was swung open as Blaine emerged, shooting Ross an entertained smirk before walking to the back seats and throwing that door open. Some mumbling was heard and a moment later, Rachel was dragged out of the car.

When he saw her, his eyes went wide. She looked awful, with her hair thrown in every direction and her entire frame looking weak and frail. Her face screamed exhaustion, as if she had barely slept at all over the past few days.

Yet, she was the most beautiful person he's ever seen.

"Rachel!"

Her name almost seemed foreign to her as she first looked up, and then finally turned in his direction. As soon as their eyes met, hers went wide and tears started to form.

"Ross! Ross! Please help me!" she screamed, trying to run towards him but Blaine held her back by the rope tied around her hands.

"Let her go!" he yelled, turning to Enrico.

"Uh, uh, uh," he said, waving his gun before pointing towards the case. "First things first; open it up so I know it's what I want."

Gritting his teeth, he slowly began clipping off the locks as he glanced at Rachel, seeing the frightened and confused look on her face.

"I swear, if you did anything to her…"

"Calm down, I'm a man of my word Ross. You should know this by now. You're little girlfriend was unharmed, now open the case."

With a snap the case fell open, revealing the dark green substance inside the sharp syringe. Enrico grinned and nodded his head.

"Ah, my baby has finally returned." He looked to Ross with a bemused grin. "See, was this so hard? This all could have all been avoided if you had just brought this back to me to begin with."

It took all of his strength to keep himself from storming over there and socking Enrico in the face. He was well aware of the disadvantage of being unarmed so he forced himself to stay calm.

"Alright, now hand it over."

Ross shut the case with a slam. "I don't think so. Let Rachel go first."

"Hmm… I see you did learn something from what I taught you. Good man," Enrico grinned. "Very well, we'll give each other what we want at the same time."

He snapped his finger and at once, Blaine undid the rope around Rachel's hands and roughly pushed her forwards. She stumbled, only to end up in the arms of Enrico who grabbed her by the arms and pointed her to Ross.

She was scared out of her mind and Ross could see it in her eyes. He gave her a look saying _"it's going to be ok"_ and she nodded shakily. He then shifted his focus back to Enrico, who was still grinning like a mad man.

"Look at this situation Ross. You, over there with something of mine, and me, over here with something of yours. Neither of us wants to be here, yet, it had all come to this. If you had simply just given the case back peacefully then all of this could have been avoided." He gave Rachel a little shake and she flinched, letting out a little whimper. "I hope you learned something today Ross. I always get what I want. All that matters is whether you want to do it the easy way or the hard way."

Ross grit his teeth. "Let's just get this over with."

Enrico just snorted. "You've never been any fun."

Ross ignored him and kept his eyes on Rachel, never breaking eye-contact as he slowly placed the case on the ground and kicked it forward. At the same time, Enrico gave Rachel a hard shove and she stumbled forwards, crossing the case that had stopped at halfway.

"Ross!"

"Rachel!" he shouted back, rushing over to her as fast as he could.

"Oh… and one more thing Ross…"

As Ross looked up, time suddenly seemed to move in slow motion. A few feet away, Enrico stood with the largest smile on his face, pointing a gun directly at Rachel's back. Ross' eyes widened and in the split second, nothing mattered more than getting to Rachel as fast as he could.

"…never betray me again."

"NO!"

 _ ***BANG***_

The sound of the gun was deafening as it echoed off the dark alley walls. A high-pitched scream followed and slowly died off along with the gunshot. Soon, everything fell silent.

Ross' eyes shot open and the first thing on his mind was the small shaking frame that he held tightly in his arms. Somehow he had gotten to her, but did he get there in time?

"Rachel, please tell me you're ok," he pleaded quietly, searching for her eyes.

Slowly Rachel moved her hands from her face after hearing the familiar voice and she looked up. Fear and horror was plastered on her face and tears sparkled in her eyes, but by some miracle she slowly nodded her head, telling him she was alright.

"Thank God." Ross felt a wave of relief wash over him as he hugged her tightly, smiling as wide as he possibly could as they starting leaning in to each other.

Then he felt it.

A sharp, horrific pain shot through his side and he froze in his place. Rachel sensed his sudden tenseness and looked at him puzzled. He tried to stay calm but suddenly it felt like he was having trouble breathing.

Slowly he looked down and Rachel's eyes followed to the source of his pain. A huge, red spot of blood clung to the side of his shirt and seemed to be getting bigger by the second. Rachel's eyes widened in an alarmed state and at that moment, Ross felt his legs give was as he collapsed to the ground.

"No! Ross!"

Rachel rushed to his side on the ground, tears pouring out of her eyes as she held his hand tight. He tried squeezing back but it was as if he had been drained of all his strength. He felt weak, like his energy was pouring right out of him.

"No! Ross, please get up! Please! I can't lose you!"

He opened his mouth to respond but he seemed to be in a state of shock. All he could was muster out one word.

"Run."

"Well, well, would you look at that," a voice came from the side. "I guess when you try to be a hero, you end up dying like one too."

Instantly Rachel shot up, the look of fury in her eyes as Enrico approached them with a devious grin, swinging his gun in his hand.

"GET AWAY FROM HIM YOU ASSHOLE!"

Unexpectedly Rachel jumped up and as hard as she could, she punched Enrico square in the jaw. The blow completely caught him off guard, making him stumble back holding his jaw. Anger flashed in his eyes.

"Alright, that's enough out of you." In one large step he was face-to-face with her again and without warning he gave her a hard shove to the side. She practically flew, forgetting how tired and weak she already was, and she fell to the ground hard.

Seeing Rachel on the ground a few feet away sparked a fire inside of him and despite the pain, Ross slowly tried reaching for the closest object to him. That just so happened to be the case, which lay about an arm reach away. Stretching across, his fingers grazed the handle before finally he managed to grab a hold of it.

All of a sudden a boot came down on his wrist hard and he cried out in pain as Enrico dug his hand into the hard ground.

"I don't think so."

Enrico cocked his gun, staring down at Ross' fading face with a large grin. "You know, that shot wasn't meant for you, but I guess this works too. You were going to have to face me eventually anyway."

"No!" Rachel's scream came from the side and Ross looked over to see her struggle to pick herself off the ground.

"Look at me when I'm talking!" Enrico shouted, kicking him hard on his injured side. A sharp breath caught in his throat and Ross felt an intense amount of pain shoot up his side.

"Anyways, like I was saying, do you see what you've gotten yourself into? This is what happens when you bite the hand that feeds you Ross. You came to me for help. I made you into the person you are today, and this is how you repay me? Betrayal goes a long way. Perhaps it's time for me to teach you one final lesson. Of course, you won't be around much longer to apply it."

Enrico slammed his other foot onto his chest, making him gasp out for air as he felt his lungs struggle to expand under the weight. Ross' eyes were fading and he felt his vision begin to blur. This really was the end.

"Ross!"

He turned to look at Rachel on her hands and knees, crying as hard as he had ever seen her cry before. He too felt himself begin to tear up. All he cared about at this point was her safety. He kept mouthing the word _'run'_ over and over again but she just kept shaking her head.

"No! Please, don't do it! Please don't! Please!" Rachel begged Enrico, keeping their eyes locked. Ross just looked at her sadly, as if he had lost all hope. This may be the last time he ever sees her again and he wanted to savour every bit of her in his memories.

He heard Enrico snicker. "I think it's time for me to end this."

Ross felt the barrel of the gun being held to his head but he kept his eye-contact with Rachel. If this was to be his last moment, he wanted her to be the last thing he sees.

She was so beautiful.

' _I love you'_ he mouthed.

"NO!"

" **Don't you dare move a muscle.** "

Everyone turned to see where the voice came from and they were all shocked to see Scott standing a few feet away with a gun pointed at Enrico's head. Behind him a car pulled up and suddenly Lauren hopped out with the rest of the friends behind her. They all froze when they saw Ross on the ground, bloodied and with a gun to his head.

"Oh my god!" Lauren gasped, covering her mouth.

"Ross!" Monica exclaimed, trying to run forward but Chandler grabbed her.

"EVERYONE GET BEHIND THE CAR!" Scott ordered, keeping his eyes on the gang leader. The group of friends did what they were told, hiding behind the car safe from harm.

"Well now, isn't this a nice little reunion? I'm glad you're here Scott. I was hoping to get… reacquainted soon after this."

"And I see you still love to talk. Put the gun down you filthy bastard."

Enrico frowned. "Watch who you're talking to boy. Don't forget who took you in. Who fed you and kept you alive, along with that whore of a sister you have."

Scott grit his teeth. "Don't you fucking talk about Lauren like that."

"Oh? And what are you going to do about it? Why don't you drop that gun of yours and scurry off. If you haven't noticed Scotty, you're outnumbered," Enrico grinned as Blaine and the other two men stepped forward, raising their guns to Scott's.

Instead of backing down however, Scott simply smiled. "You think too little of me old man. If there's one thing I've learned from you, it's that you never come to a deal without having the advantage."

All of a sudden, figures from every direction walked out of the shadows with guns pointed at Enrico and his three men. He was clearly caught off guard that he was outsmarted, and even the friends were surprised by how many people were there. They spotted Ross friends; Nate, Henry, Morgan, Stephen, and Alexa, as well as Wendell from the club and Carla from the coffee house. There were many others as well, presumed to be the others who had managed to escape Enrico's gang.

"So what's it going to be Enrico? This can get messy real quick, real fast," Scott said, motioning to all the people around him.

Enrico looked around him, seeing that he was completely surrounded, and eventually let out a grunt. Slowly he stepped back, lowering his gun to his side as Blaine and the other two men did the same.

"Alright, we're clear!" Scott yelled over to Stephen who nodded, then turned around, waiving behind him. A moment later a police car rolled into the alleyway, stopping in the middle as three officers came out.

" **Ok, everyone put your guns down.** "

The policemen immediately went over to Enrico and his men and put them in handcuffs, bringing them to the police car as other emergency vehicles drove in. Everyone else gathered around, congratulating each other on Enrico's arrest but there was one person in particular who wasn't mingling around.

With the help of Monica and Chandler, Rachel immediately stumbled towards Ross' limp, completely still body. Tears flowed freely from her eyes as she clambered over, collapsing onto her knees next to him and sobbing in her hands.

His face was pale with no movement. His eyes were shut and his hands felt cold. His shirt was drenched in blood from his side and Rachel grasped onto his hand, squeezing it tightly.

"Ross, please get up. Please, I need you. I love you so much, please. You can't leave me now."

Sensing her friends behind her as well as the paramedics making their way over, she collapsed on his chest, weeping heavily. She didn't care if his blood was now all over her. She just needed him to be ok.

"Ross!"

…

 **Author's Note: Again, I just want to apologize for the extremely late update. I've never had a chapter come out so late before and here's hoping that it won't happen again. The quality may also not be exactly where I want it to be but I think it's still pretty good. I just felt like it was time to post an update and tell my readers that I hadn't quit.**

 **Hope you enjoyed and please leave a review. I'm a little unsure of how all this is being received so it would be great if I got some of your feedback. Thanks.**


	17. Chapter 17

**Author's Note: This preface isn't that important but it's important for this chapter. I need to disclose that I know nothing about how laws and courtrooms work, particularly in the States, so what you'll read in this chapter is straight from what I've seen on TV as well as my own imagination. If you happen to major in law, sorry!**

 **Chapter 17**

The courtroom was filled was filled with talk and chatter as they waited for it to commence. People spoke with those around them while others filed into the courthouse, quickly taking their seats. Only a certain group of people who sat in the front remained quiet, each of them with solemn faces and one thought on their mind.

Ross.

None of them have seen him since the events that took place a few days ago and soon they would see him for the first time since. And unfortunately, the situation in which they would see him is quite heartbreaking.

This wasn't just any trial.

This was his trial.

As people settled in, Chandler looked around at the somber group of friends. Not a single person had a hint of a smile on their face. Stephen and Alexa were wearing the most serious looks he's ever seen while Morgan, Nate, and Henry all looked dead-panned forwards. Even the usual cheerful duo of Joey and Phoebe had pensive looks. For a second, Chandler wondered if he should crack a joke to try and lighten up the mood, but he knew when to pick his moments and now was definitely not the time.

Then there were the last three who looked the most distraught of them all. Monica looked expressionless while Lauren looked as though she saw a ghost, with her leg constantly bouncing up and down. Rachel was the worst by far, looking completely lifeless and heartbroken. Just in the past week she's been kidnapped and starved, watched her boyfriend be shot and almost killed, and now this. He couldn't even imagine what she was going through and she looked as though she just wanted to curl up into a ball and hide.

Chandler gently reached over and rubbed her leg. "Hey Rach, it's going to be ok."

Rachel turned to him and he immediately saw gleams of tears already in her eyes. "It's not fair Chandler. Enrico's already been sentenced and sent away. Ross did nothing wrong. Why does he have to have a trial too?"

"Maybe it's just a formality," he suggested, trying to stay positive, although deep down inside he knew something bad was about to come. In fact, all of them knew it and it was shown on all of their faces.

Rachel sniffled a little and wiped her eyes. "I just… I can't believe this is how I'm going to see him again."

"I know Rachel, I know."

Meanwhile on the second row behind them, another particular blonde was also going through some trauma herself, though slightly different. Lauren's leg bounced uncontrollably as she constantly turned to check the front doors every few seconds. A look of worry was plastered on her face and the more time went on, the more worrisome she got.

"Is he here yet?"

Lauren turned to face Alexa and shook her head sadly. "No, not yet."

"Laur don't worry, he'll be here." She softly placed a hand over hers. "Scott wouldn't miss this. Maybe he's just stuck in traffic."

Lauren sighed. "I hope so…"

Suddenly the sound of someone clearing their throat brought everyone's attention to the front of the courtroom as a police officer stepped forward.

"All rise for the Honorable Judge Hale."

Everyone rose as a man wearing a judge's robe walked in from the side door, nodding to the bailiff as he passed him by. Judge Hale made his way to the platform where he took a seat, looking to the people watching him before banging his gavel.

"Court is in session," he announced as everyone quietly took their seats. "At this time the court calls the People of the State of California versus Ross Geller. May the prosecuted please be brought in?"

"Yes your honour," the bailiff responded, disappearing into the side door. A moment later the officer reappeared in the courtroom with none other than Ross by his side, and as soon as the group of friends saw him, gasps escaped their mouths.

Ross looked as if he was in an incredible amount of pain and that was understandable since his surgery was only a few days ago. He was unshaven and wore a simple shirt and pants, however just underneath his shirt peaked bandages tightly wrapped around his side where he had been shot. He looked incredibly uncomfortable as well with his hands handcuffed behind him, yet he looked as dignified as he could possibly be, keeping a straight face despite the clear amount of pain he was in.

"Ross…" Rachel whispered to herself, holding back tears.

"Ross," Judge Hale greeted, nodding to him in acknowledgement.

"Hey Jordan, how are the kids?"

"Good, they're doing well. I didn't expect to see you back in my court again. I was hoping that we'd see each other again under better circumstances."

"You and me both," Ross said, letting out a soft laugh, however he immediately winced slightly, favouring his wounded side.

"You alright? We can postpone the trial to another day if it helps Ross," Judge Hale proposed, looking at him sympathetically.

"No, that's alright. I chose to have it today. Let's go through with it."

The judge nodded. "If you insist." He turned to the bailiff and motioned to Ross' handcuffs. "Take those off, they aren't necessary."

The bailiff gave the judge a nod and unlocked the handcuffs. A moment later Ross was rubbing his wrists, looking slightly more relaxed now that his hands were no longer restrained.

"Thanks," he said to the judge.

"It's the least I can do. Now, I believe there are a few people who have been waiting to see you. I'll give you a couple minutes until we begin."

"Thanks again Jordan, I really appreciate it."

Judge Hale gave him a nod and returned to his papers. Meanwhile Ross inhaled and exhaled deeply. He had purposely not looked at any of his friends when he walked in, partly because he was embarrassed but mostly because he didn't know how they looked at him now.

But as soon as he turned and his eyes locked with Rachel's, all his doubt flushed away. Her eyes were filled with love and longing, and he could see how worried she had been from the tears threatening their way out. Everyone else had a similar look, and he immediately headed towards them without a second thought.

The very first person he embraced was Rachel, who gave him a deep kiss on the lips before burying herself into him. She was squeezing so hard that his side hurt but he didn't care. She was finally in his arms again and that's all he had wanted after all of this.

"I missed you so much," she whimpered into his shirt.

"I know, I missed you too," he whispered back, gently rubbing her hair.

"I thought you were dead. I thought I had… had lost you." She stammered the ending and he could tell she was trying her hardest not to break down in front of everyone.

"Shh, it's ok. I know, and I'm so sorry for worrying you," he soothed, kissing her forehead as he caressed her hair. However he also felt a pang of guilt in his chest because of what he knew was soon to come.

After Rachel, Ross gave every one of his friends hugs of their own as they all shared words of concern and relief that he was ok. They all had been incredibly worried about him and he even received a punch on the shoulder by his sister, followed by a tight hug that rivaled Rachel's. Nobody seemed to care about what was soon to transpire and Ross was relieved that at least he could embrace all his friends without the inevitable looming over their heads.

The last person Ross hugged was Lauren and her little form crushed into him. He hadn't seen her since she joined him on that day he was looking for Rachel, and though there was so much regret and guilt he wanted to tell her for ignoring her before, there was one thing in particular he wanted to know.

"Lauren, where's Scott?"

He felt her grip loosen as she stepped back slightly, a new look of worry showing on her face.

"I… I don't know. He hasn't showed up yet and I tried calling his cell but he didn't answer."

Ross had to admit, he was disappointed that Scott hasn't shown up yet. His friend has always been with him by his side, especially in times of need, so where was he now? He decided to give him the benefit of the doubt, trusting that Scott had a good reason for not being here.

"I'm sure he'll show up later. For now, I'm just glad you and all the others are here to support me," he said, placing a hand on her shoulder as he turned to the others. He gave them an appreciative smile, however they didn't reciprocate it and his smile slowly disappeared as he sensed the seriousness in the room.

"Ross, is it true? Are you really being prosecuted?" Chandler spoke up as everyone else looked at him intently.

Ross looked around, rubbing his forehead before meeting all of their eyes. "Yes."

"What? Ross they can't do that!" Morgan exclaimed.

"Yeah, you were the good guy!" Joey added.

Other comments were thrown out from his friends but it was the small tug on his arm that got his attention as he looked down and made eye-contact with Rachel, whose eyes once again held hints of tears just waiting to emerge.

"Ross, that's not fair! You did nothing wrong!" she cried, clutching onto his arm.

Slowly Ross looked to the ground, letting out a sigh. "Actually, I did do something wrong. I've done a lot of wrong things, and now they've finally caught up to me."

"Ross, you have to fight this. Where's your lawyer?" Stephen asked, looking around.

"I didn't hire one."

"You plan on fighting this alone?"

"No… I don't plan on fighting this at all."

Silence fell through the group following his revelation as he felt all 11 pairs of eyes stare at him in shock.

"Wh-what are you saying?" Monica finally asked with a shaky voice.

"I'm saying I'm pleading guilty."

Almost instantly a wave of disagreement hit him all at once as everyone voiced their opinion, however one voice stood out from the rest and it was the only voice he was truly worried about.

"You can't!"

All eyes turned to Rachel whose tears were now openly falling from her eyes. Ross looked at her and immediately felt his heart wrench as her pleading eyes begged him to reconsider.

"Ross you can't!" Rachel repeated, even hitting him on the chest to which he winced slightly but kept his eyes on her. "You just can't! You can't leave me again!"

"Rachel… I have to…"

"No you don't! What about me? What about us? Did you even think about what would happen to us if you were sent away? Do you even care?"

Now he really felt it in his heart and he grabbed Rachel's hands, blocking out everyone around them in doing so. "Of course I care and of course I've thought about it. But there's no way around it, and even if I fight it, there's no guarantee I'll be set free."

"Well at least try!" she countered, her voice cracking through her tears.

"No… Rachel, this is something I have to do."

"Why? Tell me why, b-because it doesn't make any sense to me!" Rachel's sobs broke his heart as she broke down in front of him. "D-do you know what I've had to go through? Do you know how much p-pain and suffering I've gone through for us? I… I almost watched you _die_ Ross, and it… it killed me inside! And now that we're finally back together, you're telling me you h-have to leave me again? Why Ross, why?"

"… Because it's who I am."

Holding back his own tears, Ross gently wiped away her tears as he lifted her chin, peering into her eyes.

"Rachel, the reason I moved here was because I wanted to be honest and I wanted to be true. When I cheated on you, I felt like I had lost all credibility, not just to you but to myself. I came here to find out who I truly am, and that is someone who strives to be honest and truthful. I've done a lot of horrible things, and even though I did it because I thought it was right, I wouldn't be an honest man without facing the consequences of what I've done. If I don't do this, how could I look at myself in the mirror again? How could I look at you? Who would I be?"

"You'd be my soul mate," Rachel responded softly. "You'd be the love of my life, the man of my dreams, and the person I want to spend the rest of my life with because you'd be the most sincere person I'd ever known."

Ross let out a soft sigh as they gently touched foreheads, both of them closing their eyes as they held each other close.

"I love you so much Rachel…" he whispered. "…but you know none of that would be true unless I do this."

A soft sob escaped her mouth and she buried her face into his chest.

"I know," her muffled voice whimpered through his shirt and her soft tears. "I love you with all my heart Ross."

"Rachel…"

The sharp sound of the banging of the gavel brought them both back to reality as the friends slowly re-took their seats, looking at them both with sympathetic eyes.

"It is time for this trial to resume," Judge Hale announced, taking his seat.

Meanwhile Ross and Rachel slowly broke from their long embrace, looking into each other's eyes one last time. In unison, they both leaned in, connecting in the most passionate and heartfelt kiss they've ever shared, as neither of them knew when the next time they'd be able to share a moment like this again.

After a few moments they broke for air and with one last look into her beautiful blue eyes, Ross slowly moved away, their fingers holding onto each other until the very last moment. When their fingers last grazed the others, Rachel held her hand to her heart and tears glistened in her eyes as Ross quietly took his seat.

Taking a deep breath, Ross slowly looked up to where Judge Hale was sitting and gave him a nod, telling him he was ready and he nodded back.

"We shall begin," Judge Hale started. "Ross Geller, you have been charged as a second time offender for possession of an illegal drug or substance: a second degree felony in the State of California. How do you plead these charges?"

 _This is it_ , he thought.

This is where he will finally own up to everything he has done. He will finally become the honest man he set out to be. The man who has finally redeemed himself for his past faults, and most important of all, the man Rachel truly deserves.

Ross looked back, finding her face watching him in the front row, her expression showing her heartache but her eyes speaking the truth. She was proud of him, and no matter what happens, they'd be together eventually.

And that was all he needed.

"Your honour," Ross said, turning back to Judge Hale. "I plead… guilty."

Judge Hale nodded. "Very well. Mr. Geller, as a second time offender, your charge of a second degree felony carries a prison sentence of up to five years."

Ross heard a murmur go up behind him and more importantly, he heard a gasp escape Rachel's lips that had the same effect of having his heart stabbed with a dagger. Even he didn't expect 5 years.

5 years locked up in a prison cell.

5 years to spend alone without his friends and family.

5 years... without Rachel.

It was the only way.

"Mr. Geller, are you prepared to accept this charge, as well as its sentence?"

It was the only way.

"Yes," Ross declared, holding his head up high.

Judge Hale nodded, and there was even a hint of a smile in the corner of his mouth as even he had to admire Ross' honour.

He raised his gavel.

"Very well, Ross Geller, I hereby sentence you to five years in prison."

The gavel came down.

" **WAIT!** "

Just before the gavel struck, the front doors to the courtroom burst open and Scott barrelled in. All eyes were on him as he slowly made his way down the aisle, passing the shocked looks on all his friends' faces.

"Scott? What are you doing?" Lauren asked as her brother passed her by.

"Something I should have done a long time ago."

Scott walked through the gate between the benches into the main area, where he stopped next to where Ross was sitting.

"Mr. Hughes, what is the meaning of this interruption in my courtroom?" Judge Hale demanded.

"Your honour, you are prosecuting the wrong man," Scott declared. "I am who you want."

"Scott, what the hell are you doing?" Ross hissed, and was surprised when Scott put up a hand to quiet him.

"Ross, it's time I paid you back."

"What?"

"Your honour, Ross is innocent. I am the real guilty one," Scott began. "I'm the one who gave him the case to begin with. I am the one who got him involved and introduced him to drug dealing and gang involvement. I should have been the one to be charged the first time and I should be the one to be charged now."

"Scott, that's enough," Ross asserted, trying to stand up but a sudden sharp pain in his side forced him back down.

"No Ross, _you've_ done enough," Scott responded, turning back to Judge Hale. "Your honour, this man right here is the most selfless, honest man I've ever met. Everything he's done has helped others and he's freed so many people from their horrible pasts. For me personally, he's made me into the best person I can possibly be. He gave me a job, he gave me a new life, he supported my sister when I couldn't, and most of all, he became my closest friend."

Ross was frozen in place. He couldn't believe what was happening. He tried opening his mouth but nothing came out.

What the hell was Scott doing?

"Your honour, if you sentence this man, you'll be locking up one of the greatest men this city has ever known. Sentence me instead," Scott turned to Ross and smiled. "I owe him that much."

All of a sudden Ross snapped out of his shock. "No, Scott, you can't do this."

"Yes, I can," he answered, smiling calmly. "Ross, I owe you my life. You've done so much for me and Lauren that I will never be able to repay you, so let me at least do this for you. I've seen you put aside your own demons to deal with mine and for that, I will always be grateful. You deserve to be happy Ross. You deserve to have a second chance."

"Scott, I…"

The bang of the gavel brought their attention back up to Judge Hale, who looked at the two men closely.

"Mr. Geller, Mr. Hughes, do you both agree with what Mr. Hughes has testified?"

Scott looked to Ross with a look full of confidence and assurance. The look in his eye told Ross that what he was doing wasn't just to save him, but that he truly meant what he had said and that to him, this was him paying him back.

With a heavy sigh, Ross closed his eyes, nodding his head slowly.

"We do, your honour," Scott affirmed, standing tall and proud.

"Very well then. Ross Geller, you have been pardoned from all charges against you," Judge Hale announced before turning to Scott. "As for you, Scott Hughes, I hereby sentence you to five years in prison, with the option of parole after two years."

 ***Bang***

All went silent in the courtroom as Ross slowly turned to his friend, now a convicted criminal. Despite the outcome however, Scott seemed… relieved, almost content from what he's done. Ross could see it in his eyes; he had finally done something right.

"Scott… I don't know what to say…" Ross started, trailing off as he was still shocked at what had occurred.

Scott turned to him and grinned. "How about… 'I'llsee you in five years'?"

Ross couldn't help but let out a soft chuckle as he stood up and approached his friend, giving him a large hug. "Thank you Scott."

"No, thank you Ross, for everything you've done." Scott smiled as they separated and ended on a small little handshake.

"Scott!"

The two men looked over to see Lauren bursting through the small gate, running towards her brother with tears in her eyes. Behind her, the large group of friends looked at them with looks of sympathy. Everyone watched as the two siblings embraced, Scott holding his sister as she embraced him tightly.

"Scott, why did you do it? Why?" she cried.

"Because it was the right thing to do. I once learned from some stranger that the most important thing in life is to be truthful to yourself," he replied, looking up at Ross and smiling. "And that's what I did today."

Lauren wiped her tears on Scott's shirt and looked up at her brother with sad eyes. "Five years Scott. Five years you'll be gone. How am I going to live without you?"

"Simple, by being yourself," Scott smiled, wiping some tears from his sister's eyes. "Lauren, I'm so proud of the woman you've become. You'll do fine without me. And hey, if you ever need someone to bug you, just come visit me in prison."

Lauren forced out a soft laugh as she embraced her brother once more.

"I'm going to miss you so much."

Scott gently caressed her hair, kissing her on the forehead.

"I'm going to miss you too."

Someone cleared their voice behind them and they broke to see the bailiff approach them with a pair of handcuffs.

"I'm sorry Mr. Hughes, but it is time to go."

"I guess it is," Scott said with a happy sigh, allowing the police officer to handcuff him.

He looked up to see Ross standing with Rachel happily under his arm, and he knew at that moment he had made the right decision.

"Yo Ross!" Scott yelled, getting his attention. "Take care of my sister, will ya?"

Ross looked to Lauren, then back to Scott and smiled. "You have my word," he replied as Lauren walked over to him. He embraced her with his other arm and brought her close.

"I'll hold you to it."

With one last heartfelt goodbye to everyone else, Scott was escorted to the side of the courtroom. Ross, Rachel, and Lauren all watched as perhaps the person who sacrificed the most out of all of them slowly disappeared into the back room, the look of a content smile being the last thing they saw from him.

In the end, it was Scott who had given them all the most important gift of all.

A second chance.

…

 **Author's Note: So, technically this is the "last chapter", per say. What I plan on having is two more chapters however. The first one will be almost like a pre-epilogue and the other, obviously, will be the epilogue. Both of those should come out next week at around the same time, so be sure to be on the lookout for those final two chapters of this story.**

 **Anyways, regarding this chapter, I hope you guys really enjoyed it because this has been one of my favourite chapters to write. I hope I caught a few of you by surprise with how it ended. I doubt any of you saw that coming, or maybe you did. Who knows?**

 **Again, hope you guys really enjoyed it and be sure to leave a review. Seriously, for a chapter like this, how can you not? :P**


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